Nokia has appointed Mr P. Balaji as its Vice-President and Managing Director in India. This comes after Mr D. Shivkumar took a global role as the Senior Vice-President for the IMEA region. Nokia has been scouting for an India head for more than six months.

Mr Balaji will be responsible for expanding Nokia’s mobile phones and smart devices business in India while providing strategic direction and operational focus. Besides building and consolidating Nokia’s market presence, he will focus on energising the Nokia brand, driving partnerships and strategic alliances and developing the capabilities of the Nokia organisation in India.

Mr Balaji takes over the reigns at a time when Nokia is struggling to keep its leadership position in the market. Its market share has declined to 38.2 per cent, according to a survey done by Voice and Data. The primary challenge for Mr Balaji would be to revive the Nokia brand in the smartphone segment, now dominated by Samsung.

Announcing the appointment, Mr Shivakumar said, “Mr Balaji has an excellent track record of managing businesses, people, customer and government relationships. He brings in exceptional understanding of the telecom industry, having worked in diverse functions across the sector. His experience and leadership make him a strong addition to the India leadership team.”

Mr Balaji brings with him over two decades of experience in the IT and telecom industry. He was earlier Managing Director of Sony Mobile Communications and before that he was working for Ericsson India.

>tkt@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW