Nokia Corp will reshuffle its management in mobile devices to tackle growing competition in the smartphone and high-end mobile computer sector, the company said on Tuesday.
The mobile sector will be divided into three units — mobile solutions, mobile phones and markets — down from the current five.
The changes take place July 1.
Mobile solutions, which will focus on the top-end market, will be headed by Anssi Vanjoki, currently the chief of the markets unit.
Nokia said the devices would be based on MeeGo and Symbian software platforms that “will be tightly integrated with Nokia’s Internet services.”
The announcement came less than a week after the world’s top handset maker said it would launch new smartphones to catch up with competitors.
CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said the changes were partly aimed at increasing Nokia’s lead over its rivals in overall handset sales.
“Nokia’s new organizational structure is designed to speed up execution and accelerate innovation,” Kallasvuo said.
Nokia said that the mobile phones unit, headed by Rick Simonson, would be taken over by Mary McDowell, currently chief development officer. Simonson will retire from “full-time” duties at Nokia but will continue as a senior adviser in the company’s networks sector. Niklas Savander, head of the services sector, will take over the markets unit.
In the first quarter of this year, Nokia sold 21.5 million smartphones, up 57 percent from a year earlier.
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