Telecom Lead Europe: Nokia
Siemens Networks has appointed Samih Elhage as its chief operating officer
(COO). Elhage will focus on operational excellence.
Samih brings a great
deal of telecommunications, operations, business transformation and management
experience to our new role of chief operating officer. With our strategy
clearly defined and restructuring underway, I am particularly pleased to have
Samih join us to focus on driving operational excellence as well as improving
our overall mode of operations,” said Suri.
The new role of COO,
who will report to Rajeev Suri, the
company’s chief executive officer, has been created to lead the global operations
organization at Nokia Siemens and the transformation of the company’s mode of
operations and business performance management. In this new role, Elhage joins
the company’s Executive Board.
Joining Nokia Siemens
at this critical juncture in its transformation is a tremendous opportunity,
and I am excited to be part of one of the leading teams in the most important
sector of telecoms today: mobile broadband. I’m confident that by leveraging my
relevant operational expertise, together with the existing team at Nokia
Siemens Networks, we can successfully tackle the challenges and opportunities
facing the company,” Elhage said.
Elhage was previously
a senior advisor to private equity and global management consulting firms,
focusing on investments and improving the operating performance of companies in
the telecommunications sector.
Prior to these
advisory roles, until August 2010, Elhage held a number of roles at Nortel,
including president of Carrier Voice over IP and Applications Solutions and
vice president of Corporate Business Operations.
Elhage has more than
22 years of expertise in telecommunications. He began his career at Bell Canada
in 1990 where he held multiple-management and leadership roles relating to
network development. Elhage then joined Nortel in 1998, where he held
leadership roles in its Optical, Broadband and Core Data Networks organizations,
before assuming leadership of Business Transformation and Operations.
Herbert Merz, who has
been leading both Global Operations and Optical Networks for Nokia Siemens
Networks, will focus on the optical business. Merz remains on the Executive
Board and will continue to lead the Nokia Siemens Networks Germany supervisory
board.
