Finland: After the sale of its devices and services business to Microsoft on April 25, 2014, Nokia has announced new strategy and leadership team to build on its networks, location and technologies business.
Leadership changes
Effective May 1, Rajeev Suri will take over as the new President and CEO of Nokia Corporation. Timo Ihamuotila has been appointed as the Executive Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer, and Michael Halbherr as CEO of HERE.
Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and has held a wide range of leadership positions in the company. Since October of 2009, he has served as CEO of NSN, the former joint venture between Nokia and Siemens that is now fully owned by Nokia. All three businesses will report to Suri.
Renewed strategy for HERE
Nokia has stated that through its HERE business, it will invest to “further develop its location cloud to make it the leading source of location intelligence and experiences across many different operating systems, platforms and screens.” The company will target its investment in three areas: 1) technology for smart, connected cars; 2) cloud-based services for personal mobility and location intelligence, including for the growing segment of wearables and special purpose devices; and 3) location-based analytics for better business decisions.
“Our view is that only one other company has location services that come close to the depth and breadth of those from HERE – and HERE has the advantage of being independent from any operating system or single business model,” said Rajeev Suri.
As a result of the closing of the transaction between Nokia and Microsoft, Nokia's financial position and earnings profile have both improved. Therefore, Nokia Board also announced plans for a EUR 5 billion capital structure optimisation programme which focuses on recommencing ordinary dividends, distributing deemed excess capital to shareholders, and reducing interest bearing debt.
Source: Nokia
