Rajeev Suri, the chief executive of Nokia, is stepping down from his leadership role after overseeing the Finnish networking giant for more than 10 years. Pekka Lundmark, currently the President and CEO of energy firm Fortum, has been elected as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia, the Finnish company announced on Monday.
The networking giant said Suri had expressed his intention to step down from the role and that they have been working to formulate a smooth transition. “After 25 years at Nokia, I have wanted to do something different,” said Suri, who will leave his current position on August 31 and continue to serve as an advisor to the Nokia Board until January 1 next year. Lundmark is expected to start in his new role on September 1 later this year.
The announcement comes days after Bloomberg News reported that Nokia was exploring a range of strategic options including selling portions of its business assets to merger potential merger deals.
“Nokia will always be part of me, and I want to thank everyone that I have worked with over the years for helping make Nokia a better place and me a better leader. I leave the company with a belief that a return to better performance is on the horizon and with pride for what we have accomplished over time. Pekka is an excellent choice for Nokia. I look forward to working with him on a smooth transition and wish him the best success in his new role,” Suri said.
Nokia’s Technology unit, which manages the company’s patent portfolio, reported 3% growth in its operating profit to 1.24 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in 2019, while its sales slipped 1% to 1.49 billion euros. The company, like its rivals Ericsson and Huawei, is building technologies and products for 5G networks.
Last month, U.S. Attorney General William Barr urged the nation and its allies to consider investing in Nokia and Ericsson to counter Huawei’s dominance in 5G technology, fueling speculation of merger and acquisition activities.
This is a developing story…
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