Nokia Dismisses Rumors of CEO Change

Nokia denied a Financial Times report indicating it is searching for a new CEO. The company stating the board fully supports its current boss Pekka Lundmark.

FT reported Nokia had approached candidates about replacing Lundmark and at least one head-hunter had been appointed to run the process, with the change prompted by stagnating sales, a depressed share price, and shareholder frustration over Lundmark’s failure to raise revenue. Nokia denied the report, stating it was not undergoing a process to replace Lundmark.

It did, however, add it continuously assesses and discusses the leadership team’s ongoing success plan “through a comprehensive approach that covers internal and external candidates”. “This is the same process for our chair and board of directors. For this work we also use the help of professional advisers. Our CEO and chair are fully aware and involved in this process.” Notably, the report also stated 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 was tasked with turning around the Finnish vendor’s fortunes following a turbulent period during which it lost out on several major contracts, fell behind on delivering 5G networks, and struggled to compete with rivals Huawei and Ericsson. He implemented a major strategic overhaul, which included a renewed focus on R&D and a cost-cutting program. While he was able to steady the course, the company reported an 18% drop in sales in Q2, blaming weakness in the mobile sector.