Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas has some words of advice for the company he is set to leave at the end of this week that won’t go down too well with a certain Finnish equipment vendor.
Urging his colleagues to remain curious about the future, Baksaas, who is leaving the Norwegian incumbent after 13 years at the helm, said Telenor does not want to be another Nokia.
"There are big changes coming our way in the future of data," he said in an interview published on Telenor’s Website on Thursday. "And if we do not see that as an opportunity, we will run the risk of being left behind."
Referring specifically to Nokia, Baksaas said "we do not want to be those ship-owners who stuck to the sailing ships when the sails went down and the engines came in."
Ouch. However, Baksaas has a point.
In 1998, Nokia overtook Motorola to become the world’s largest mobile phone maker, and for the next nine years it appeared for all the world to be uncatchable.
However, the end of Nokia’s reign was precipitated by the 2007 launch of Apple’s first iPhone, which set a new benchmark in term s of hardware and software design, and introduced the world to mobile apps. This model was replicated by Google with Android, which made its smartphone software freely available to handset makers.
Years of decline followed for Nokia, and in 2012 it surrendered its lead to Samsung. In 2013, the company sold its handset business to Microsoft for US$7.2 billion.
In July, Microsoft took a $7.6 billion writedown on the value of its Nokia assets and announced 7,800 job cuts.
"We cannot necessarily see what is going to happen tomorrow, none of us. But we need to be mentally and practically prepared for sudden events, and we need to be unafraid of responding," said Baksaas on Thursday.
Since becoming CEO of Telenor in 2002, Baksaas has continued to drive the company’s international growth, particularly in Asia, where it is present in six countries, launching most recently in Myanmar.
Today, Telenor’s Asian operations together account for 52% of group revenue, versus 22% for its Norwegian business.
"I am very proud that we in 2003-04 made the strategic plan to really get a position in Asia, and we have over-delivered on that plan," Baksaas said.
On Monday, the head of Telenor’s Asian business, Sigve Brekke, will take over as group CEO.
As for Baksaas, he will remain chairman of the GSMA until the end of 2016.
