Ask any Nokia employee about their main frustrations with the company, and you’re not going to hear some sob story about the iPhone, or job cuts, but instead you’ll get an ear full about the yearly game of musical chairs. Some people are lucky enough to do the same job they’ve been doing all along, they just have to deal with remembering their new title every 12 months. Other people spend a year working their tail off to jump up the corporate ladder, only to be put on a team under a new boss who they’ve never met. It’s a royal pain in the ass.
Spring is here, summer is right around the corner, so it’s a ripe time to bring change. Nokia is now going to be split up into 3 units: Mobile Solutions, Mobile Phones and Markets. Mobile Solutions will work with MeeGo and Symbian devices and will be headed by Anssi Vanjoki, pictured above, a man who has no problem getting the job done, and whose talent was being wasted in the bowels of the marketing department. MeeGo Computers will be led by Alberto Torres, and Symbian Smartphones will go to Jo Harlow. Tero Ojanpera’s ass kissing of Hollywood stars and music legends will come to an end, and he’s now being put in charge of the Services Unit within Mobile Solutions.
Rich Green is the new Chief Technology Officer, and he comes from Sun Microsystems. He’s going to be responsible for making Nokia’s technology, both internal and external, work. Should be interesting to see what he does since he’s new to the company.
Mobile Phones, that’ll be headed by Mary McDowell, the lady who used to run the now ancient Enterprise Unit that gave us one of the most beloved portfolio of devices to ever hit the market: Nokia’s Eseries.
Markets will be headed by Niklas Savander, which proves one thing, the brass upstairs gave him a chance to do something with the Device Unit, and he didn’t do shit, so now he’ll be responsible for hiring a bunch of mid to late 20 creative types who understand the market, giving them a bunch of money, that said hipsters will then use to higher creative agencies, whose ultimate goal is to strengthen the presently tattered Nokia brand name.
Kai Oistamo will become Chief Development Officer and Head of Corporate Development. Not sure how I feel about this one. Not saying Kai isn’t a bright man, he’s very smart, but is he forward thinking enough to set Nokia’s future strategy?
And saddest of all, Rick Simonson is gone. The former Chief Financial Officer, turned Head of Mobile Phones, a title he kept for less than a year, has called it quits. He’s retiring.
Make no mistake, this is one hell of a reorganization, and it makes me wonder … what about the man on top? Why does Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo get to keep his job?
Anyway, good luck Anssi, it’s nice to see you back in a unit responsible for making devices. Seriously dude, what the fuck were you doing in marketing?
Update: And sorry for not making this clear, all the changes I’ve listed above go into effect on July 1, 2010.
[Via: Press Release]