Here’s a strange move – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) chief financial officer Rick Simonson is switching to run the mobile phones division of its devices unit, in an exec reshuffle.
Simonson has only ever held finance roles with the Finnish company since joining in 2001 – first as head of customer finance, before becoming CFO in 2004, giving him responsibility for all investor relations and M&A – and was a Barclays investment banker before that.
But in his new role he will lead the unit that handles Nokia’s lower-end S30 and S40 phones, as well as leading “strategic sourcing” for the whole of the wider devices unit.
Says Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, in the announcement, says Simonson’s “deep knowledge of the business and its financials will be valuable for the significant part mobile phones (the division) plays in Nokia’s business”.
Current sales head Timo Ihamuotila, a former treasurer with the company, will fill Simonson’s shoes as CFO