Nokia Oyj chief executive officer Rajeev Suri is stepping down after just more than half a decade at the helm of the Finnish network company.
Suri is to be replaced by Pekka Lundmark, the outgoing chief executive of Fortum Oyj, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Suri, 52, has struggled during his tenure to gain a foothold in the all-important 5G market.
Photo: Bloomberg
Due to the fierce competition facing Nokia, it has started to explore its strategic options, including potential asset sales or mergers, Bloomberg News reported last week, citing people close to the deliberations.
Nokia fell behind rivals Ericsson AB and China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), just as the Finnish company was on the cusp of large-scale rollouts of its 5G mobile networks amid problems developing proprietary chipsets.
As a result, Nokia was forced to buy more expensive alternatives, adding to its costs and eroding profits.
In October last year, Nokia angered investors when it suspended its dividend and cut its earnings guidance, wiping 23 percent off the share price in a single day.
In the past 12 months, the firm has lost about one-third of its market value.
Suri, who has been at Nokia for 25 years, became chief executive after running the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture. He is to leave his position on Aug. 31 and serve as an adviser to the Nokia board until Jan. 1 next year, Nokia said.
In Lundmark, Nokia is getting a chief executive who has “consistently delivered robust total shareholder returns, successfully renewed the company’s strategy, and positioned it to be a strong player in the transforming global energy sector,” the company said.
“He has a record of leadership and shareholder value creation at large business-to-business companies; deep experience in telecommunications networks, industrial digitization, and key markets such as the United States and China; and a focus on strategic clarity, operational excellence and strong financial performance,” Nokia board chairman Risto Siilasmaa said in the statement.
Lundmark has a track record of doing large deals, having engineered Fortum’s US$6.9 billion acquisition of German utility Uniper SE with the help of investors Elliott and Knight Vinke — the deal is seen closing this quarter.
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