New Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri Outlines Networking And Connected Device Future

New Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri says the company will focus on creating equipment and services to help support the anticipated growth in connected devices and network traffic following the £4.6bn sale of its handset business to Microsoft, which was completed last week.

Suri, who joined Nokia in 1995, has been appointed to the top job by Nokia’s board of directors following his tenure as CEO of Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN), a position he held since 2009.

He replaces interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa, who had been serving as interim CEO while the sale took place and will return to his original role as chairman of the board of directors.

New Nokia CEO

“I am honoured to have been asked to take this role, and excited about the possibilities that lie in our future,” says 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.”

NSN, along with HERE Maps and Nokia’s advanced technology operations, has been retained by the Finnish firm following the sale of the mobile phone business for which it has been mainly known. The company plans to build its future around these three business units.

Nokia says that over the next decade, billions of devices will need to be connected and it believes it can help facilitate this.

Connected devices push

NSN will now operate as the ‘Networks’ business under the Nokia brand and will continue to offer equipment for operators to help them deal with the anticipated growth in traffic. The advanced technologies unit will also operate under the Nokia banner and will focus on areas such as sensor systems and radio interoperability. HERE maps will retain its own branding and will focus on location services for connected cars, cloud services and analytics.

“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.”

Last week, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was named as executive vice president of the Microsoft Devices Group, which will comprises Lumia smartphones and tablets, Nokia mobile phones, Surface tablets and Xbox gaming consoles.

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