InformationWeek

Reed came to Cabletron in September after Robert Levine, the other co-founder, announced plans for early retirement. Reed's departure was followed last week by the resignations of Stephan Gray, sen ior VP of corporate marketing, and Mark Truhlar, CIO and director of network management.

Reed, formerly group executive for external affairs and corporate communications at Nynex, was to help Cabletron build stronger relationships with telecom companies and expand its product offerings. For instance, Cabletron recently bought high-end router-switch maker Yago Systems Inc. to keep up with larger competitors Cisco Systems, 3Com, and Bay Networks.

But Benson appears to have moved Reed aside in an attempt to propel the company along faster. "Don got into this business, realized how fast-moving it is, and realized what an asset I have in my brain after 20 years of industry experience," Benson said. "I can make smart decisions quicker and implement faster than he possibly could. Planning has never been my strong suit, but he has given me a plan to execute on."

But customers aren't so sure it was the right move. "When they announced Reed was taking over, I couldn't have been more thrilled," says Brian Ru hf, manager of Michigan's Consolidated Network Operations Center in Lansing. "He had the right credibility. He brought a lot of industry connections. He brought focus to the company-the corporate direction was nailed up on the wall. Then all of a sudden this happens. It's very disappointing."

Cabletron posted a $263 million loss for the quarter ended Feb. 28, on an 18% drop in sales. In December, the company announced layoffs of 600 people and a major restructuring-moves that depressed the stock price but were seen by customers and analysts as necessary.