Softbank names Katsumasa Niki as corporate officer
Japanese telecom, internet and media conglomerate Softbank has appointed Katsumasa Niki as corporate officer of corporate strategy & development division and general manager of corporate strategy & development.
He replaces Eric Gan, who has taken over the role of executive vice president and board director at Softbank Mobile.
Nokia appoints chief business officer, global services chief
Nokia has named Ashish Chowdhary as chief business officer and Igor Leprince as global services chief
Nokia Networks has promoted Ashish Chowdhary to the role of chief business officer to lead the company’s global customer operations.
Chowdhary will assume his new role in January 1, 2015 and be based in Espoo, Finland. He will report to Nokia president and CEO, Rajeev Suri, and remain on the Nokia Networks Leadership Team.
Chowdhary is currently EVP Asia, Middle East & Africa (AMEA), overseeing all sales and operations in the region representing more than half of the revenue of Nokia Networks’ global business. He will continue to lead AMEA until the end of the year.
As part of this change, René Svendsen-Tune, EVP of Europe and Latin America, and Ricky Corker, EVP of North America, will report to Chowdhary as of January 1.
Svendsen-Tune will leave the company at the end of the first quarter 2015 after a smooth transition, while Corker will remain on the Networks Leadership Team.
Separately, Igor Leprince has taken over the role of EVP Global Services from Eva Elmstedt, who will leave the company at the end of the year for personal reasons.
Leprince joined Nokia Networks in September 2007 as the global head of Network planning and optimization. Most recently Leprince was SVP and head of Middle East & Africa, where he has been responsible for all sales and operations in the region. He will continue to lead Middle East & Africa until a successor is appointed.
Based in Espoo, Finland, Leprince reports to Rajeev Suri, and also joins the Nokia Networks Leadership Team.