Nokia has appointed Michael Halbherr as executive vice president to spearhead the handset maker’s revised strategy in mobile and location-based services.
Halbherr will lead a new business unit, called Location & Commerce, which will be created from the merger of Nokia’s Navteq mapping business with its social location services operations.
The unit will develop “integrated social location products and services for consumers, as well as platform services and local commerce services for device manufacturers, application developers, internet services providers, merchants, and advertisers”, Nokia said in a statement.
Halbherr, who has been at Nokia since 2006, will report to Nokia chief executive officer Stephen Elop. Most recently he has been leading the product unit in Nokia's services business unit, based in Berlin.
Larry Kaplan, who has served as CEO for Navteq, will continue to support the transition work for the new Location & Commerce business through year-end.