HMD Global today unveiled its latest smartphone, the HMD Fusion, an affordable device whose idea is to change functions and style with a shell. This is how the HMD Fusion will initially be distributed, but additional devices will be available later this year.
Nokia rejects rumors of a CEO change
14. 09. 2024 Saturday / By: Robert Denes / Business / Exact time: BST / Print this pageThe Financial Times reports that Nokia is looking to replace CEO Pekka Lundmark. Nokia is struggling with weak sales figures. The Financial Times cites sources as saying that the search is ongoing and that Nokia has approached potential candidates. Lundmark has been the President and CEO of Nokia since 2020. Before that, he was the president and CEO of Fortum. Nokia has denied a Financial Times report that it is looking for a new CEO. The company said the board fully supports its current boss, Pekka Lundmark.
The FT reported that Nokia had sought candidates to replace Lundmark and appointed at least one headhunter to lead the process, a move prompted by stagnant sales, a depressed share price and shareholder frustration at Lundmark's failure to grow earnings. Nokia denied the report, saying it was not in the process of replacing Lundmark.
However, he added that he will continue to evaluate and discuss the leadership team's ongoing success plan "through a comprehensive approach that includes internal and external candidates." "This is the same process for our president and board of directors. We use the help of professional advisors for this work. Our CEO and president are fully aware of this process and participate in it." Notably, the report also stated that Nokia is looking for a new chair to replace Sari Baldauf, who is a close ally of Lundmark.
Lundmark was appointed CEO in 2020 and has been tasked with turning around the Finnish vendor's fortunes after a turbulent period that saw it lose several major contracts, fall behind in delivering 5G networks and struggle to compete with rivals Huawei and Ericsson. in competition. It undertook a major strategic overhaul that included a refocus on research and development and a cost-cutting program. While it was able to stay on track, the company reported an 18% drop in sales in the second quarter, citing weakness in the mobile sector.
In the past six months, Nokia's share price has risen by about 15 percent, but is still 15 percent lower than it was three years ago, for example. Nokia has been at the center of many rumors lately. In August, Bloomberg reported that network equipment maker Nokia was exploring a sale or other arrangement for its mobile network business.
According to Bloomberg, the options would be to sell all or part of the mobile networks, spin off into a separate company or merge with a competitor. If it goes through, the transaction would represent a significant change for Nokia. Mobile networks are Nokia's biggest business unit, but its profitability is weak.
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