Nokia today named the successor to CEO Jorma Ollila, who is expected to step down next June. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the head of Nokia's Mobile Phones business unit, will replace Ollila as CEO on June 1, 2006. He will also take over as president and COO in October of this year. Nokia said Ollila will remain as non-executive chairman after Kallasvuo takes over as CEO. Ollila originally planned to leave his role as CEO as early as 2001, but decided to stay on after the board requested it.
The news has received mixed reaction. Many analysts see the move as a sign of stagnation in Nokia. While the company remained the world's handset market leader, it has been losing market share to rivals Motorola and Samsung. Nokia has also lost its place as the industry innovator for cell phone design.
For more on Nokia's new CEO:
- read this article from AP