Nokia’s Rajeev Suri is now the president and CEO of the Nokia Solutions and Network (NSN) division in the entire group.
The announcement comes after the sale of Nokia’s handset division to Microsoft, which left Nokia made up mostly of NSN, alongside its IP and mapping divisions.
Now the company is changing the name from NSN, a name that has been known for a very long time and is adopting Nokia Networks.
“As Nokia opens this new chapter, the Nokia Board and I am 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.”
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.
Timo Ihamuotila, who is currently Nokia’s Chief Financial Officer has been appointed to serve as the Group Chief Financial Officer as of May 1, 2014.
“We believe our planned comprehensive EUR 5 billion capital structure optimization program enables Nokia to make quick and orderly progress towards a more efficient capital structure, and is aligned with the long-term interests of our customers and shareholders,” he said.
The company plans to spend EUR2.25 billion on share repurchases and dividend payments to shareholders. There will also be a plan to reduce debt by EUR2 billion by the end of the second quarter 2016.
Nokia ended the first quarter 2014 with gross cash of EUR 6.9 billion and net cash of EUR 2.1 billion compared to EUR 9 billion and EUR 2.3 billion, respectively, at the end of the fourth quarter 2013. The sequential decline in Nokia’s gross cash was primarily due to repayment of certain debt facilities totalling approximately EUR 1.8 billion during the first quarter 2014. If the transaction to sell Microsoft substantially all of the Devices & Services business would have closed before the end of the first quarter 2014, Nokia would have ended the quarter with gross cash of approximately EUR 10.5 billion and net cash of approximately EUR 7.1 billion.
