Monday, 28 August 2006

Nokia, Siemens Name Heads for New Unit

Nokia and Siemens have announced the business unit and regional executive team for their planned Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) with the expectation that the proposed merger will be approved and begin operations by Jan. 1, 2007.

The new unit's Chief Executive Officer is named Simon Beresford-Wylie, executive vice president and general manager of networks at Nokia. Mika Vehvilдinen would serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO); Karl-Christoph Caselitz would serve as Chief Market Operations Officer (CMO); and Peter Schцnhofer would serve as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). All these appointments will be effective when the new company starts operations, which is expected by Jan. 1, 2007.

"We are making excellent progress in planning for the start of operations at Nokia Siemens Networks," said Simon Beresford-Wylie.

The business units of Nokia Siemens Networks will be global organizations with management and personnel distributed in many countries, including both Finland and Germany. Stephan Scholz, currently Senior Vice President and Head of Carrier Development in Siemens Communications, will lead the Research, Technology and Platforms organization, focusing on research, technology and cross-business unit synergies including common platforms.

The merger, announced in June, will help strengthen Nokia’s weak networks division while lifting Siemens’ profits out of a long-time funk.