Ericsson chairman Leif Johansson to stand down
Ericsson chairman Leif Johansson (pictured) will step down from his position as the struggling Swedish telecoms equipment vendor enters a new phase.
Johansson, who has been serving as chairman of the company since 2011, has informed the company that he will not make himself available for re-election at the shareholder’s AGM in 2018, according to a company statement released on July 5.
Ericsson, facing increasing competition from Huawei and Nokia, has been struggling to return to profitability.
Johansson didn’t explain explicitly why he had chosen to step down, saying only the company has a new strategy and there had been changes in ownership
But according to FT, the move was prompted by corporate activist investor Cevian Capital, led by Christer Gardell, which recently acquired 5.6% stake in Ericsson and has been pushing for further change.
Commenting on his decision, Johansson said, “Börje Ekholm assumed the position as CEO in the beginning of the year and during the first quarter the company presented a new, more focused, business strategy. This strategy, which is supported by the board and the major owners, creates a solid foundation for realizing Ericsson’s full potential”.
“The company now enters a new phase, with focus on execution, and we also have a new ownership constellation. It is natural to let the owners jointly propose a chairman and well ahead of this I want to announce that I will not be available for a next term,” he added.
The company said its nomination committee has initiated a search for a replacement.
Nokia appoints Gregory Lee to head technology arm
Nokia has appointed Gregory Lee (pictured) as president of Nokia Technologies and a member of the company’s Group Leadership team, with immediate effect.
Lee joins Nokia after a 13-year career at Samsung Electronics, where he most recently served as president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America. In this capacity, Lee led all of Samsung's businesses for North America, managing a portfolio of products including mobile phones and consumer electronics, as well as those in new market segments such as digital health, virtual reality devices and digital content.
Rajeev Suri, president and chief executive officer of Nokia, said the company has chosen “the right leader to take Nokia Technologies forward at a time of renewed excitement about the Nokia brand around the world.”
"Gregory's passion for innovation and operational excellence, along with his proven ability to build and lead global consumer technology businesses, make him well suited to advance Nokia's efforts in virtual reality, digital health and beyond."
Lee will be based in California, reporting to Suri.
Wendy Johnstone joins Microsoft APAC team
Microsoft has appointed Wendy Johnstone as marketing and operations lead for Asia Pacific, effective from July 3. Based in Singapore, Johnstone is in charge of all marketing activities and operations for Microsoft in the region.
Johnstone joins Microsoft from Salesforce, where she was most recently vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific.
She brings to the table over 20 years of experience and had held numerous senior marketing leadership positions at Salesforce, EMC and IBM.