HMD Global, the business vehicle set up to create and market Nokia-branded mobile devices, has appointed a new permanent CEO three months after Arto Nummela vacated the role.
Nummela previously headed up Microsoft’s mobile devices business in Greater Asia, the Middle East, and Africa after the company bought out Nokia’s mobile phone business. But with Microsoft effectively exiting the mobile hardware market, Nummela was brought in to breathe new life into Nokia’s mobile brand via HMD Global.
Nummela’s departure back in July was sudden, but the Finnish company didn’t look too far to fill his shoes, appointing former HMD Global president Florian Seiche acting CEO for the past few months. And now Seiche will step up into the position on a permanent basis.
“Florian has been co-leading HMD Global as president since the start of the company,” said HMD Global board chair Sam Chin. “He is the best choice to be the CEO, as he has been instrumental in leading our global operations and taking our first products to over 80 markets in the last few months. We are now entering an exciting growth phase and are delighted to have Florian to lead the team.”
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As a result of his appointment, Seiche will also now join the HMD Global board.
HMD Global has unveiled a number of mobile phones over the past year or so, including cheap feature phones, mid-range smartphones, and the Nokia 8 flagship. Arguably the company’s most notable launch to date came when it brought back the classic Nokia 3310, slightly reimagined for the modern era with Bluetooth and a sleeker design. Last month, HMD Global revealed that a new 3G version of the 3310 was coming to market, including in the U.S.
