Nokia Corporation
Stock Exchange Release
December 3, 2019 at 15:12 (CET +1)
Sari Baldauf to succeed Risto Siilasmaa as Nokia Board Chair at Nokia’s Annual General Meeting 2020
- Risto Siilasmaa will step down from the Nokia Board of Directors after serving 12 years as a Director and the last eight years as the Chair at Nokia’s Annual General Meeting, planned to be held on April 8, 2020.
- Following a nearly one-year succession planning process, the Board’s Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee proposes the Vice Chair, Sari Baldauf, to be the new Chair of the Nokia Board, subject to her re-election to the Board by the Annual General Meeting.
Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced today that its Board Chair, Risto Siilasmaa, has informed the Board that he will not stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the Nokia Annual General Meeting in 2020. Siilasmaa joined the Nokia Board in 2008 and was appointed as Board Chair in 2012. He also served as interim CEO of Nokia from 2013 to 2014.
“During my time as Board Chair, we have repositioned Nokia as a world-leading network technology business, with a strong basis for the future,” said Risto Siilasmaa. “This has included some fundamental strategic steps, including the sale of the Nokia mobile devices business to Microsoft, taking full ownership of the NSN telecom infrastructure business, and the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent. This transformational journey has not been easy, and I would like to thank everyone at Nokia for their determination and dedication.”
“We are in the midst of another transition now, with the historic move to 5G,” continued Siilasmaa. “While we know that Nokia is facing some short-term challenges as the technology matures, I am confident that we have the right actions underway to address those issues. Many parts of Nokia are performing well, and we are delivering on our strategy to diversify into enterprise markets and build our software business.”
The Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee has conducted a rigorous succession planning process for almost a year and, in alignment with the full Board, proposes Board Vice Chair Sari Baldauf as the new Chair and Board member Kari Stadigh as the Vice Chair as of the Annual General Meeting 2020, subject to their re-election to the Board.
Baldauf joined the Nokia Board as a non-executive director in 2018. In addition, she is a member of the Supervisory Board & Nomination Committee of Daimler AG and the Board of Directors of Aalto University. Baldauf was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Nokia’s Networks business group from 1998 to 2005 and, prior to that, held various executive positions at Nokia in Finland and the United States. Until 2018, Baldauf was the Board Chair of Fortum Corporation and a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom.
“I am honored by the nomination to serve Nokia and its shareholders as the Chair of the Board of Directors,” said Sari Baldauf, Nokia Board Vice Chair. “Risto and I have worked closely together since I was named Vice Chair in May. I see a clear opportunity to help create long-term shareholder value and look forward to continuing to work closely with the Board and with Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri. Rajeev and his team are working hard to address both the short-term issues and strengthen Nokia’s longer-term value drivers.”
“Risto has been an excellent partner during a time of significant change at Nokia,” said Rajeev Suri, the President and CEO of Nokia. “On behalf of all the employees of Nokia, I thank him for all his hard work and support. I look forward to working with Sari as the new Chair of the Nokia Board.”
Nokia plans to publish the notice of the AGM 2020 and the complete proposals by the Board after the publication of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results. Nokia’s AGM is planned to be held on April 8, 2020.
About Nokia
We create the technology to connect the world. We develop and deliver the industry’s only end-to-end portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing that is available globally. Our customers include communications service providers whose combined networks support 6.1 billion subscriptions, as well as enterprises in the private and public sector that use our network portfolio to increase productivity and enrich lives.
Through our research teams, including the world-renowned Nokia Bell Labs, we are leading the world to adopt end-to-end 5G networks that are faster, more secure and capable of revolutionizing lives, economies and societies. Nokia adheres to the highest ethical business standards as we create technology with social purpose, quality and integrity. www.nokia.com
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It should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. 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and 31) risks related to undersea infrastructure, as well as the risk factors specified on pages 60 to 75 of our 2018 annual report on Form 20-F published on March 21, 2019 under “Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors” and in our other filings or documents furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
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