Nokia president and chief executive officer (CEO) Rajeev Suri will step down from his role at the Finnish networking giant. The Indian-origin executive will be passing the baton on August 31 this year, following more than 10 years at the helm.
Pekka Lundmark, currently the president and CEO of energy company Fortum, has been appointed as the next Nokia chief.
“With the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent behind us and the world of 5G in front of us, I am pleased that Pekka has agreed to join Nokia,” said Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia Board Chair.
Lundmark said he was “honored to have the opportunity” of spearheading the “extraordinary company” that has “so much potential” and “so many talented people”. He will be taking over on September 1, 2020.
Nokia, in a press release, said that Suri had expressed his wish of “stepping down from his role”, provided “a solid succession plan was in place”. After the structured process for CEO succession completed on March 2, 2020, the firm’s board of directors unanimously appointed Lundmark.
Adding that Nokia will “always” be a part of him, Suri said “After 25 years at Nokia, wanted to do something different”. Speaking of his successor, Suri said, “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 was leading Nokia Solutions and Networks, the smaller network equipment unit of Nokia, before the firm sold its handset business to Microsoft in a $7.2 billion deal. The 52-year-old joined Nokia in 1992 and has a degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from Mangalore University.
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