Nokia on Monday announced the resignation of Rajeev Suri as the company’s president and chief executive officer and the appointment of Pekka Lundmark as the new CEO.
Rajeev Suri resigned from the telecom network maker after spending 10 years at the top position. Rajeev Suri is leaving Nokia at a time when the company is reportedly looking for divestment of assets or mergers.
Nokia is facing tough competition in the 5G network market from rivals such as Huawei, Ericsson, ZTE and Samsung. Nokia is yet to cash in on opportunities arising from the black listing of Huawei by several nations including the United States.
Achievements of Rajeev Suri
# led consolidation of the telecom infrastructure sector
# turnaround of Nokia Siemens Networks
# disposal of multiple non-core assets
# growth in profitable patent licensing business
# integration of Alcatel-Lucent
# diversification into software and enterprise markets
# became #2 telecom network maker
Profile of Pekka Lundmark
Pekka Lundmark is expected to start as president and chief executive officer of Nokia on September 1, 2020.
Pekka Lundmark is currently president and CEO of Fortum, an energy company based in Espoo, Finland. Prior to Fortum, Pekka Lundmark served as president and CEO of Konecranes, a material-handling technology company.
He also held multiple executive positions at Nokia, including vice president of Strategy and Business Development at Nokia Networks from 1990-2000.
“Pekka has a record of leadership at large business-to-business companies; 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 financial performance,” said Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia Board Chair in a statement.
Rajeev Suri indicated earlier to the Board that he was considering stepping down from his role at some point in the future, provided a solid succession plan was in place.
“After 25 years at Nokia, I have wanted to do something different,” said Rajeev Suri. “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.”
Rajeev Suri will leave his current position on August 31, 2020 and continue to serve as an advisor to the Nokia Board until January 1, 2021.
