Nokia CEO says company plans to become leader

Pekka Lundmark, CEO of Nokia, told Helsingin Sanomat that the company decided to put its food down the gas pedal after finding itself in a substantially improved technological position.

Nokia currently commands a share of 25 26 per cent in mobile networks and one of less than 20 per cent in optical networks in geographies outside China, he said.

The markets are no longer growing too much in the networks of telecommunication companies, but we intend to expand our market share with new products. He said that geopolitical development is helping us, pointing out the problems faced by the Chinese rivals of Nokia.

A number of western telecommunication companies have discontinued equipment and software acquisitions from the rivals over espionage concerns.

Revenue from Nokia's corporate business went up 21 per cent year-on-year to two billion euros, the equivalent of about eight per cent of its 25 billion-euro revenue. According to Helsingin Sanomat, its most important corporate clients are mines, ports and energy companies.

Automation is progressing fast in the industry, which is why we are seizing this growth opportunity hard, said Lundmark.

He said the company would look to become the leader in all business segments, increase its software-as-a-service operations, and increase the licensing of patents in segments outside mobile phones, such as automotive and the internet of things.

He said that we intend to make responsibility a competitive advantage. This means that we ll take into account aspects such as environmental considerations and information security in all our operations. The green transition and digitalisation support each other very strongly. Helsingin Sanomat pointed out that Nokia employs about 10,000 companies in China, a country with a dubious human rights track record.

It isn't possible to decouple China from the world economy. The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that China can't be decoupled, but we need to do a better job of managing China-related risks and make sure we aren't too dependent on it, countered Lundmark.

Nokia plans to refresh its brand, including adopting a logo that is emblematic of an energised, dynamic and modern company.

Our old logo is still associated with mobile phones. With the new visual design, we want to communicate that the company is renewing, added Lundmark to Helsingin Sanomat.