HMD Global Appoints Pekka Rantala as Chief Marketing Officer to Re-Launch Nokia-Branded Mobile Phones

HMD is a new company that has been founded to create a full range of Nokia-branded smart phones, feature phones and tablets, and Rantala will lead their return to the global consumer market. His first priority is to recruit a world class team of marketers, brand specialists, and communicators to engage global mobile phone users.

HMD is a new company that has been founded to create a full range of Nokia-branded smart phones, feature phones and tablets, and Rantala will lead their return to the global consumer market. His first priority is to recruit a world class team of marketers, brand specialists, and communicators to engage global mobile phone users.

Arto Nummela, CEO of HMD global, said:

"Pekka has an important missiontorejuvenatetheNokia brand inmobile phones. He is an experienced consumer marketer who knows how to run global operations and teams, and is passionate about the Nokia brand.Branding has become a critical differentiator in mobile phones,and 96% of global mobile phone users are familiar with the Nokia brand,our unique asset. We know people around the world areexcitedabouta new wave of Nokiaphones, andweare working hard to create a beautiful range of Nokia-brandeddevicesthat people will love."  

Pekka Rantala said:

"There areveryfew opportunities like this, towork with a global brandwith the power to touch hundreds of millions of people every day. It is a privilege toworkwith thisuniquebrand, to engage with the millions of dedicatedNokiaphonefans around the world and create a generation of new ones. We are going tobring togetheranewteam oftalentedpeople who canbuildsomething incredible." 

Rantala spent seventeen years in Nokia's mobile phone business. A marketing specialist he has served across sales, marketing and operations roles, latterly as Senior Vice President for Global Marketing. He then spent several years in the fast moving consumer goods industry, before becoming CEO of Rovio Entertainment, best known as the creator of "Angry Birds". He has most recently served as Chairman of Jot Automation, a supplier of services to the global electronics industry.

Notes to Editors  

HMD has sole use of the Nokia brand on mobile phones (smartphones and feature phones) and tablets worldwide for the next decade. HMD's Nokia-branded smartphones and tablets will run on the Android operating system, uniting one of the world's iconic mobile brands with the leading mobile software and app development community.

HMD intends to leverage and grow Nokia's global brand reach, delivering beautifully designed, high quality products to people all over the world in line with Nokia's brand promise. HMD intends to invest over USD 500 million over the next three years to support the global marketing of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets.

HMD's Nokia-branded devices will be manufactured and distributed worldwide by FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn. HMD has full operational control over sales, marketing and distribution of its Nokia-branded devices, with exclusive access to the pre-eminent global sales and distribution network being acquired by FIH from Microsoft. HMD will make further announcements about its plans and product roadmaps in due course.

AboutHMD global 

Registered and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, HMD is a new private venture founded to create a new generation of Nokia-branded mobile devices. HMD will be run by a group of experienced industry leaders, including CEO-designate Arto Nummela, who previously held senior roles at Nokia and is currently the head of Microsoft's Mobile Devices business for Greater Asia, Middle East and Africa as well as Microsoft's global Feature Phones business, and president-designate Florian Seiche, who is currently Senior Vice President for Europe Sales and Marketing at Microsoft Mobile, and previously held key roles at Nokia, HTC and other global brands. http://www.hmdglobal.com