Nokia names Rajeev Suri as CEO, drops NSN brandname

Looking towards a new horizon, Nokia has appointed Rajeev Suri as President and CEO and announced new set of strategy, program to optimize capital structure, and its leadership team.

Having completed the sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft on April 25, 2014, Nokia has announced the appointment of Rajeev Suri as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective May 1, 2014. It has also presented its vision to be a leader in technologies important in a connected world, with a strategy to realize that vision by building on Nokia's three strong businesses in networks, location and technologies.

New President and CEO

Nokia Board of Directors has appointed Rajeev Suri as President and CEO of Nokia Corporation, effective May 1, 2014. 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.

During his tenure as CEO, that business went through a radical transformation to become one of the leaders in the telecommunications infrastructure industry.

"As Nokia opens this new chapter, the Nokia Board and I are confident that Rajeev is the right person to lead the company forward," said Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors. "He has a proven ability to create strategic clarity, drive innovation and growth, ensure disciplined execution, and deliver results. We believe that his passion for technology will help ensure that Nokia continues to deliver innovations that have a positive impact on people's lives."

Siilasmaa, who has also been serving as an interim CEO, will return to focusing exclusively on his role as Chairman of Nokia's Board of Directors as of May 1, 2014.

"I am honored to have been asked to take this role, and excited about the possibilities that lie in our future," said Rajeev Suri. "Nokia, with its deep experience in connecting people and its three strong businesses, is well-positioned to tap new opportunities during this time of technological change. I look forward to working with the entire Nokia team as we embark on this exciting journey."

Nokia believes that over the next 10 years billions of connected devices will converge into intelligent and programmable systems that will have the potential to improve lives in a vast number of areas: time and availability, transportation and resource consumption, learning and work, health and wellness, and many more.

This new world of technology will require 1) connectivity capable of handling massive numbers of devices and exponential increases in data traffic; 2) location services that seamlessly bridge between the real and virtual worlds; and 3) innovation, including in sensing, radio and low power technologies. Nokia's vision is to be a leader over the long term in these three areas.

"The world of technology is on the verge of a change that we believe will be as profound as the creation of the internet" said Rajeev Suri. "With our three strong businesses - Networks, HERE and Technologies - and position as one of the world's largest software companies, we are well placed to meet our goal to be a leader in the technologies for a world where everybody and everything is connected."

Nokia Strategy

"Nokia's strategy is to develop its three businesses in order to realize its vision of being a technology leader in a connected world and, in turn, create long-term shareholder value," said Rajeev Suri. "Our goal is to optimize the company so that each business is best enabled to meet its goals. Where it makes sense to do so, we will pursue shared opportunities between the businesses, but not at the expense of focus and discipline in each."

Nokia Drops NSN Brandname

Moving forward, through its Networks business (formerly Nokia Solutions and Networks, or NSN), Nokia will invest in the innovative products and services needed by telecoms operators to manage the increase in wireless data traffic which is more than doubling every year. Future investment will focus on further building on our strong position in mobile broadband and related services, and strengthening our leadership position in next-generation network technologies.

Today, the Networks business serves more than 90 of the world's 100 largest operators, is a leader in the large and dynamic mobile broadband market, and is ranked third in estimated global market share in mobile radio and second in telecommunication services. An early leader in virtualization and cloud technologies, Networks conducted trials and pre-commercial live projects with more than 50 customers in 2013.

"Customers of our Networks business can have confidence that we will continue to make the investments necessary to deliver the innovation needed to help them build even stronger businesses," said Rajeev Suri.

Additionally, through its HERE business, Nokia 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.

Given that location is an essential element of a connected world, we will target our 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.

Today, HERE is the leading global provider of map content, powering four out of five in-car navigation systems. Its location platform is used by leading internet companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo. "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.

Through its Technologies business, Nokia will invest in the further development of its industry-leading innovation portfolio. This will include 1) expanding our successful intellectual property licensing program; 2) helping other companies and organizations benefit from our breakthrough innovations through technology licensing; and 3) exploring new technologies for use in potential future products and services.

The Technologies team includes hundreds of world-class scientists and engineers who have driven more than half of Nokia's recent patent filings and many of whom are recognized as leading experts in fields that are essential for enabling the future connected world.  These areas include low-power connected smart multi-sensor systems, distributed sensing, and intelligent interplay between various types of radio technologies.

"Nokia's industry leading intellectual property has the potential to create significant value for our licensees and our shareholders," said Rajeev Suri. "With the strength of our Technologies team and continuing investment in advanced research and development, we can also drive new opportunities for Nokia in both business-to-business and consumer markets."