8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

DATE OF REPORT (Date of earliest event reported) December 12, 2012

TELLABS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	0-9692	36-3831568
(State of Incorporation)	(Commission file number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
One Tellabs Center
1415 W. Diehl Road
Naperville, Illinois		60563
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (630) 798-8800

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On December 12, 2012, Tellabs, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed two new directors to its Board, Dennis (Denny) F. Strigl and Mikel H. Williams, effective immediately.

Mr. Strigl, (66), was the President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Verizon Communications from January 2007 through December 2009 and prior to that was the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Verizon Wireless since its formation in April 2000. Previously, Mr. Strigl served as President and CEO of Bell Atlantic Mobile, Group President and CEO of the Global Wireless Group of Bell Atlantic, Vice President of Operations and COO of Bell Atlantic New Jersey, Inc. (formerly New Jersey Bell Telephone Company) and served on its Board of Directors. He also served as President and CEO of Applied Data Research, Inc. Mr. Strigl currently serves on the board of directors of ANADIGICS, Inc., PNC Financial Services Group, PNC Bank and Eastman Kodak Company. Mr. Strigl holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a doctorate in Humane Letters from Canisius College and an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Mr. Williams, (56), served as President and CEO of DDi Corp. from November 2005 through its acquisition by Viasystems Group, Inc. on May 31, 2012. From November 2004 to October 2005, Mr. Williams served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of DDi. Previously, Mr. Williams served as the sole member of Constellation Management Group, LLC providing strategic, operational and financial/capital advisory consulting services to companies in the telecom, software and high-tech industries from May to November 2004; and as COO of LNG Holdings, a European telecommunications company where he oversaw the restructuring and sale of the business from June 2002 to December 2003. Prior to that, Mr. Williams held a number of executive positions with Global TeleSystems, Inc. and its subsidiaries, a leading telecommunications company providing data and internet services in Europe. Mr. Williams began his career as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse. Mr. Williams currently serves on the board of directors of Interis, Inc., Lightbridge Communications Corporation and IPC electronics industry association. Mr. Williams holds an M.B.A. from Georgetown University and a B.S. from the University of Maryland.

Mr. Williams’ appointment fulfills Tellabs previously announced agreement with Dialectic Capital Management, LLC, to appoint a new director by December 31, 2012, as more fully described in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 6, 2012. Messrs. Strigl and Williams do not have a direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

Mr. Williams will be a Class III director up for reelection at the 2013 Annual Stockholders Meeting, and Mr. Strigl will be a Class II director up for reelection at the 2015 Annual Stockholders Meeting. Mr. Strigl and Mr. Williams will be eligible to receive compensation for their services as directors consistent with that provided to the Company’s other non-employee directors, as previously disclosed in the Company’s definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 6, 2012.

A copy of the Company’s press release announcing the appointment of Messrs. Strigl and Williams to the Board is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and the information set forth therein is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Exhibits

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release dated December 12, 2012

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

	TELLABS, INC.
	(Registrant)
	/s/ Thomas P. Minichiello
	Thomas P. Minichiello Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer and duly authorized officer)
December 13, 2012
(Date)

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release dated December 12, 2012

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

One Tellabs Center 1415 West Diehl Road Naperville, IL 60563 United States

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 12, 2012

Tellabs appoints Dennis F. Strigl and Mikel H. Williams to Board of Directors

Naperville, Illinois — Tellabs appointed two new directors to its Board, Dennis F. (Denny) Strigl and Mikel H. Williams, and with such appointments the Tellabs Board will have 11 directors.

Mr. Strigl is a former president and chief operating officer of Verizon Communications Inc. and former president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless. He brings more than 40 years of experience from telecom service providers, including Verizon, Bell Atlantic, Ameritech and AT&T. He serves as a director of Anadigics, Inc., Eastman Kodak Company and PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

Mr. Williams is a former president and chief executive officer of DDi Corp. He brings more than 15 years of executive and financial experience in electronics manufacturing and telecommunications in roles at DDi Corp., LNG Holdings and Lambdanet, and Global Telesystems Inc. He serves as a director of Interis Inc., Lightbridge Communications Corporation and also serves on the board of the IPC, an association representing the electronic industry.

Mr. Williams’ appointment fulfills Tellabs’ previously announced agreement with Dialectic Capital Management, LLC, to appoint a new director by Dec. 31, 2012.

Mr. Williams will be a Class III director up for reelection at the 2013 Annual Stockholders Meeting, and Mr. Strigl will be a Class II director up for reelection at the 2015 Annual Stockholders Meeting.

“We are delighted to add the financial, market and technology expertise of Denny Strigl and Mikel Williams to Tellabs Board of Directors,” said Michael J. Birck, Tellabs chairman and co-founder. “Tellabs Board and executives look forward to working with Mikel and Denny as we work to create value for our stockholders and customers.”

About Tellabs — Tellabs innovations advance the smart mobile Internet and help our customers succeed. That’s why 80% of the world’s top communications service providers choose our mobile backhaul, packet optical, business and services solutions and applications. We help them get ahead by adding revenue, reducing expenses and optimizing networks.

Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB) is part of the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Ocean Tomo 300^® Patent Index, the S&P 500 and several corporate responsibility indexes including the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Index, FTSE4Good and eight FTSE KLD indexes. http://www.tellabs.com

Media Contacts: George Stenitzer, +630.798.3800, george.stenitzer@tellabs.com

Investor Contact: Tom Scottino, +1.630.798.3602, tom.scottino@tellabs.com

Tellabs^® and are trademarks of Tellabs or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Any other company or product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

###