NSN chairman to step down

Infrastructure vendor NSN (Nokia Solutions and Networks) has announced that executive chairman Jesper Ovesen will step down from his role. Ovesen will depart upon the closing of the transaction this quarter, when tech giant Microsoft acquires Nokia’s devices and services business.

“We thank Jesper for lending the full breadth of his restructuring and change management expertise and for playing a critical part in building a stronger NSN,” said Nokia chairman and interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa.

“NSN has developed into a profitable and leading mobile broadband specialist that is pushing the boundaries of connecting people through LTE and future technologies.”

Ovesen joined NSN in September 2011, when the firm was still a joint venture between Nokia and Siemens. The firm said that he supported NSN CEO Rajeev Suri and his management team in building a telecoms infrastructure company focused on mobile broadband and related services. NSN has been fully-owned by Nokia since August 2013.

The closing of Nokia’s acquisition by Microsoft is expected to take place during the first quarter of 2014. Ovesen will continue to serve in an advisory role for a period after the closing of the Microsoft transaction. NSN CEO Suri will continue to report to the NSN Board.

In late October 2013, NSN announced that its 3Q13 sales dropped 24 per cent year on year to reach €2.59m.The firm blamed the drop in sales primarily due to reduced wireless infrastructure deployment activity and a negative impact related to foreign currency fluctuations. Net sales decreased 6.1 per cent quarter on quarter reflecting seasonality and NSN’s strategic focus, the vendor said.