MAM
Rajeev Suri to take over as Nokia CEO and president
NEW DELHI: Rajeev Suri, who is taking over as the new president and CEO of Nokia, says the company will focus on three strong businesses – Networks, HERE (location cloud) and Technologies to position itself as one of the world’s largest software companies.
The new appointment follows the completion of the divestment of phone business to Microsoft in a $7.2 billion deal.
Apart from Suri, the new team will include Timo Ihamuotila who joins as executive vice president and group CFO; Michael Halbherr as CEO of HERE; Henry Tirri as executive VP, and acting head of technologies and Samih Elhage as executive VP and chief financial and operating officer of Networks.
The old team included Stephen Elop, Jo Harlow, Juha Putkiranta, Timo Toikkanen, and Chris Weber who have already stepped down. Louise Pentland, Juha Akras and Kai Oistamo will step down from Nokia next month.
Suri had recently turned round Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN), the telecom network business, by axing around 17,000 resources, divesting non-viable businesses and bringing clarity to its mobile broadband focus. The NSN brand will disappear as part of the new restructuring and will be known as Nokia Network business. Suri will continue to head this business.
Nokia without the ailing phone business will focus on networks, location and technologies. Suri will draft fresh strategies for leadership position as NSN is behind Ericsson and Huawei in telecom network business.
Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and has held a range of leadership positions in the company. Since October 2009, he has served as CEO of NSN, the former joint venture between Nokia and Siemens that is now fully owned by Nokia.
Suri was instrumental in creating strategic clarity, driving innovation and growth, ensuring disciplined execution.
India-born Suri is the second to be elevated to a major post in an IT company in recent weeks, as vendor Microsoft had recently picked up Satya Nadella as its CEO.
Nokia believes that billions of connected devices will converge into intelligent and programmable systems over the next decade that will have the potential to improve lives in a vast number of areas: time and availability, transportation and resource consumption, learning and work, health, and wellness.
This new world of technology will require connectivity capable of handling massive numbers of devices and exponential increases in data traffic; location services that seamlessly bridge between the real and virtual worlds; and innovation, including in sensing, radio and low power technologies.
“Where it makes sense to do so, we will pursue shared opportunities between the businesses, but not at the expense of focus and discipline in each,” Suri added.
In 2013, Nokia invested 2.5 billion euros in research and development.
Through its networks business (formerly NSN), Nokia will invest in the innovative products and services needed by telecom operators to manage the increase in wireless data traffic which is more than doubling every year.
Nokia will invest in mobile broadband and related services and next-generation network technologies.
Nokia will invest to develop its location cloud to make it the leading source of location intelligence and experiences across many different operating systems, platforms and screen. The focus will be on technology for smart, connected cars; cloud-based services for personal mobility and location intelligence, including for the growing segment of wearables and special purpose devices; and location-based analytics for better business decisions.
Nokia plans to reduce interest bearing debt by around 2 billion euros by the end of the second quarter 2016.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
