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VIRTUALISATION Ericsson names new global CEO
VIRTUALISATION Ericsson names new global CEO | Ericsson names new global CEO |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Thursday, 25 June 2009 | |
  
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Ericsson today is one of the most profitable telco vendors having ridden the cellular infrastructure boom very successfully, but it was a different story when Svanberg was appointed. He joined Ericsson in April 2003 at what Ericsson now says was "a troublesome time when the company struggled with losses and restructuring." It adds: "One of his first actions was to introduce his leadership philosophies and focus on operational excellence. Culture and ways of working changed in the company and is a major reason for today's good profitability." Chairman Michael Treschow said "With Carl-Henric Svanberg's leadership, Ericsson has become the industry's most profitable company...Over the past six years, mobile telephony has grown from one billion to four billion subscribers, an unparalleled development. Ericsson has been one of the main drivers in this development with a steadily increased market share. The strong position in GSM and continued industry leading R&D investments have paved the way for leadership in mobile broadband and 4G/LTE now being deployed worldwide." From 2003-2008 Ericsson's compounded annual growth was 12 percent and over the past five years, the company has generated a total profit of SEK 103b and a cash flow of SEK101b. Svanberg replaced Kurt Hellstrom and his appointment was announced two days after Ericsson posted poor quarterly and full year results that sent its share price plummeting by 25 percent. In the words of one contemporary report " Ericsson also gave indications that 2003 could be an annus horribilis." Svanberg's appointment pushed the share price back up by 16 percent Svanberg had no track record in telecoms - he previously ran Swedish lock maker, Assa Abloy. Commentators on news sites questioned Ericsson's wisdom in the choice. However the company said he had "successfully led Assa Abloy into becoming the world's leading lock maker [turning] the company into a highly efficient organisation while distinguishing himself for his excellent leadership skills." He will clearly be a hard act to follow, but Ericsson reckons his successor is well up to the task; Treschow, said: "Hans Vestberg was early in his career at Ericsson identified as a person with outstanding leadership skills. He has a proven excellent understanding of Ericsson's business with experience from all different Ericsson business activities. He has been instrumental in developing Ericsson's industry leading services operation which grew threefold with good profitability during his five years of management." He added: "Vestberg has a broad international experience through assignments for more than ten years in three continents. [He] will lead Ericsson in a phase where the transformation of telecom operators' networks and implementation of IP-based services are crucial in order to continue the company's successful creation of shareholder value."
This article first appeared in ExchangeDaily, iTWire's daily newsletter for telecommunications professionals. Register here for your free trial.
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