Nokia’S Senior VP D. Shivkumar Resigns After 8 Year Stint

D. Shivakumar, Senior Vice-President at Nokia (India, Middle East, Asia, Africa) has resigned after an 8 year stint at the company. He led Nokia’s India operations from 2006 till 2011, before moving to Dubai to lead the region. Shivakumar will continue in a consultancy role at Nokia till June 30.

The reason of his resignation has not been clear yet but according to some reports he has decided not to be associated with businesses such as mobility, telecom and fast-moving consumer goods. Prior to joining Nokia India he was heading the consumer electronics business of Philips and Hindustan Lever. Nokia enjoyed over 70% market share under his reign and built the brand in India from No. 71 to No. 1 on the most trusted list. Although the company also saw a few hiccups like slow adoption of dual SIM card phones, closing of Nokia Money and others during his tenure.

Commenting on Shivakumar’s resignation, Chris Weber, executive vice-president (sales and marketing), Nokia, said, “Since starting in 2006, Shivakumar has been fully dedicated to the company, playing an integral role in Nokia’s growth in India and beyond.”

The development from Nokia comes within a month after  BlackBerry India’s  managing director Sunil Dutt resigned earlier this month. Dutt left BlackBerry at a time when the smartphone maker was trying to make a comeback with its latest device, BlackBerry Z10.

Shivkumar’s exit comes at a time when Nokia is dominated by the likes of Samsung, Sony and a range of Indian brands like Micromax and Karbonn.  From a 40% market share globally in 2008, Nokia now commands less than a 20% share of total handset volume. The Finnish handset maker stands fourth with sales of 2.227 billion handsets in 2012.

We all know that Nokia is trying to regain its market share with Lumia line of smartphones. Let’s hope that this development will not affect company’s current motion. What do you think about this? Let us know

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