Nokia Corp. today announced that its longtime Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri is stepping down from the role.

He’ll be replaced by Pekka Lundmark, the current president and CEO of Finland’s state-owned energy firm Fortum Oyj, the company said today.

Suri (pictured), who has led the company for over a decade, will stay on at Nokia to help with the transition to the new leadership, before stepping down on Aug. 31. He’ll continue to serve as an adviser to Nokia’s board of directors until Jan. 1, 2021. Lundmark will officially take over as the company’s new president and CEO Sept. 1.

“Nokia will always be part of me, and I want to thank everyone that I have worked with over the years for helping make Nokia a better place and me a better leader,” Suri said in a statement. “I leave the company with a belief that a return to better performance is on the horizon and with pride for what we have accomplished over time. Pekka is an excellent choice for Nokia. I look forward to working with him on a smooth transition and wish him the best success in his new role.”

The shakeup was not entirely unexpected, as Bloomberg reported just days ago that Nokia was exploring “a range of strategic options” to revitalize itself, including selling parts of its business.

Nokia’s problem is that it has struggled to keep pace with rivals such as China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Sweden’s Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson in the race to build out 5G infrastructure.

“Nokia has failed to capitalize on Chinese suppliers such as Huawei being banned in the U.S. over security concerns and has reported weak results in recent quarters, warning that its rivals were being aggressive in winning 5G deals,” The Financial Times reported.

This failure is reflected in the company’s financial fortunes to some extent. Nokia’s Technology unit reported an operating profit of 1.24 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in 2019, up 3% from a year ago. However, its sales in the last year fell 1%, to 1.49 billion euros, and under Suri, Nokia’s stock has lost more than a third of its value.

However, Nokia received a boost last month after U.S. Attorney General William Barr urged the country and its allies to consider buying Nokia’s 5G technologies in order to counter the dominance of Huawei, which is widely seen as leading the space at this time.

Nokia said its new boss Lundmark had “consistently delivered robust total shareholder returns” during his time at Fortum.

“He has a record of leadership and shareholder value creation at large business-to-business companies; deep experience in telecommunications networks, industrial digitization, and key markets such as the United States and China; and a focus on strategic clarity, operational excellence and strong financial performance,” Nokia Board Chair Risto Siilasmaa said in a statement.

The transition to a new leadership is a big milestone for a company that is emerging from a decade of consolidation that hasn’t been very kind to it, Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE.

“Lundmark will try to bring Nokia back onto a growth trajectory, something he has a proven record of doing with his previous firm,” Mueller said. “But it remains to be seen if he can do that with Nokia’s current portfolio. He certainly brings in a fresh set of eyes, being a telco industry outsider.”

Photo: Jojit Dela Pena/Flickr