Ericsson picks new chair to guide recovery efforts

Ericsson has nominated former mining equipment provider Atlas Copco CEO Ronnie Leten as its new chairman to assist with the struggling vendor’s recovery efforts.

Leten will stand for election at a shareholder vote on March 28 as Ericsson’s pick for the successor to Leif Johansson, who announced in July that he won’t make himself available for re-election.

As well as his role as president and CEO of Atlas Copco, Leten is currently a board member of bearing and seal manufacturer SKF, chairman of home appliance maker Electrolux and proposed chairman of planned Atlas Copco division Epiroc.

Despite his lack of telecoms industry experience, the chairman of Ericsson’s nominating committee Johan Forssell said the committee believes Leten is the right pick for the job.

“Ronnie Leten has a very strong track record when it comes to value creation,” Forssell said. Under his tenure, Atlas Copco has seen its shares rise twice as high as the European industrial sector index.

“Mr Leten is a very skilled businessman, technically savvy and strategically versatile. Furthermore, he has significant experience from digitalization of major operations, which will be beneficial for Ericsson’s focused work together with its customers.”

The committee has also proposed that Kurt Jofs, the leader of Ericsson’s networks business between 2003 and 2008, rejoin the company as a new board member.

“With Mr Jofs’ deep knowledge of and background from the telecom and IT-industry, not least from his previous tenure at Ericsson, we believe that he will contribute complementary skills and experience to Ericsson’s Board. With these changes, the Nomination Committee believes that the company is given the right conditions for realizing its long-term potential,” Forssell said.