Tellabs CEO says he has cancer, remains optimistic

Robert W. Pullen, CEO and president of Naperville-based Tellabs Inc., told shareholders and employees Friday afternoon that he has colon cancer.

“I am determined to fight it and beat it,” Pullen said in an email. “I'm working during the course of my treatment. I started chemotherapy a few weeks ago, and the doctors already are seeing some positive signs. My energy level is great.”

He said he has a “strong management and executive team to lead our business and take care of our customers.”

A Tellabs spokesman said Pullen hadn't felt well and only recently went to the doctor. The spokesman believes it's Pullen's first experience with cancer.

Pullen, 48, joined Tellabs in January 1985, as an electrical engineer and has held a series of increasingly responsible positions in research and development, sales, marketing, and services. He became CEO in February 2008.

Pullen has spoken at many industry forums on the development of global broadband full-service wireless and wireline networks to deliver the triple play of video, voice and data, the company website said.

Pullen has a master of business administration degree in management from Northwestern University with a focus on finance and marketing. He holds a bachelor's degree with an additional emphasis on physics from the University of Illinois. Pullen is the chairman emeritus of the executive board for the Telecommunications Industry Association.