Outgoing Boss Lauds Nokia Turnaround

Nokia’s outgoing chief Pekka Lundmark and other executives hailed the acquisition of Infinera as a significant boost for its position in optical networking. The vendor completed the acquisition on 28 February, three days before the doors opened on MWC25 and eight months after it lined up the $2.3 billion deal.

Lundmark said Infinera significantly increases Nokia's scale in optical networks and accelerates our innovation with web-scalers. Perhaps the key benefit is strengthening Nokia’s position in the US. Lundmark cited Infinera’s manufacturing capabilities in the nation as attractive.

Federico Guillen, president of Network Infrastructure, highlighted the speed with which the Infinera acquisition closed, though he was coy about offering too much detail on the likely direction of the combination given the ink on the final deal was barely 40-hours old at the time of the briefing. However, there was clear enthusiasm on the potential from the Infinera team being brought on board.

On more than one occasion, Lundmark noted he was not going to set a strategy that his successor Justin Hotard would then have to follow or reverse. Instead, the outgoing head emphasized the plan for a smooth transition by remaining on hand as an adviser for his successor until the year-end. He said his decision to step down was due to having spent 23 years steering various listed companies, a period spanning 92 quarters, and a resulting pace of life that is addictive but also never stops. He said the timeframe is enough for one CEO.

Lundmark argued he leaves Nokia in better shape than when he arrived, with the vendor having regained technology leadership, after a period in the doldrums during the early days of 5G. “Now the situation is completely different and it is different across all network domains, and we have also identified new significant growth vectors going forward.”