Nokia denies report of moves to replace CEO

(Reuters) – Nokia is not launching a process to replace Chairman and CEO Pekka Lundmark, the company told Reuters on Thursday, denying an earlier Financial Times report that it was looking for a new chief executive.

“The board fully supports Chairman and CEO Pekka Lundmark and is not going through a process to replace him,” Nokia said in a statement to Reuters.

The firm said it continuously assesses and discusses the long-term succession plan of the management team through a comprehensive approach covering internal and external candidates and that its CEO and chairman are fully aware of the process.

Lundmark was appointed CEO of Nokia in 2020.

In August, Nokia reported a 32 percent drop in second-quarter operating profit, citing weak demand for 5G telecoms equipment, but said sales should recover toward the end of 2024, helped by North American orders.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, Chandni Shah and Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)