Nokia India, West Asia and Africa under Shiv ...
>> D Shivakumar, Nokia's emerging markets head, quits after eight-year stint
Joji Thomas Philip
ET Bureau (new delhi)
The Economic Times
March 28, 2013
Nokia's operations head for India, West Asia and Africa, D Shivakumar has quit the Finnish handset major after an eight-year stint with the company.
Shivakumar, who is currently based out of Dubai, and oversees the beleaguered handset major's operations in about 90 countries, told ET that he was headed back to India after the June quarter as he 'believed that opportunities and growth were here'.
Before moving to a global role in late 2011, Shivakumar was heading Nokia's operations in India.
Nokia's Senior Vice President for emerging markets - India, Middle East and Africa Region - declined to reveal future plans on returning to India, but said that he would not be associated with mobility, telecommunications and FMCG in his next endeavor.
Prior to joining Nokia India in 2006, he was heading the consumer electronics business of Philips.
His exit comes at a time when Nokia is under siege globally struggling to combat the onslaught of smartphone makers led by South Korea's Samuang and US-based Apple. From over 40% market share globally in 2008, Nokia now commands less than a fifth of the total handset volumes as it products have of late struggled to capture customer imagination.
"When I joined Nokia, India had about 80 million mobile phone subscribers. Today it is over 900 million. I believe that Nokia too had a role to play in this along with mobile operators. Over the last eight years, the major changes in the market is that it is driven by youth, style and technology," Shivakumar said.
From the heydays of over 70% market share a couple of years ago, Nokia has fallen from its dominant position in India, as it continues to be squeezed in the low-end by Chinese players and other homegrown manufacturers like Micromax and Karbonn, and in the high-end by Korea's Samsung Electronics and Apple. Nokia currently accounts for only a fourth of the handset sales here.
Nokia's biggest failure under Shivakumar's watch was missing the dual-SIM revolution that accounted for close to 50% of handset sales in India in 2009-10.
While Nokia's response with its own dual-SIM handsets eventually turned out to be a successful, the 18-month delay led to its market share here tumbling, from which it is yet to recover.
Nokia continues to be the largest player by volumes in India, but trails Samsung by value, and is also second by a long margin in the smartphone space.
Despite falling sales, India continues to be the second largest market for the Finnish handset major after China. India generated revenues to the tune of 2.227 billion in 2012 as against 2.923 billion in 2011 and 2.952 billion in 2010, Nokia said in its annual report.
Globally, Nokia betting on the latest range from Lumia line will bring about its long-hoped for recovery. In January 2013, the handset major said its fourth quarter results had exceeded expectations and added that the sales of its Windows-based Lumia had nearly doubled, when compared the previous quarter in the same year. This also marked the first increase in its smartphone numbers in a year.
Shivakumar said the handset market had witnessed eight major trends during his tenure with Nokia. "It was on 2005-06 that mobile phones began to make a big difference to society. In 2006, style began to emerge a major factor and then came the slim phones beginning 2007. Smartphones emerged after that as we launche the N-series. Nokia has got very little credit for kicking off the samrtphone revolution," he said.
He further said that the next big trend in the Indian handset space was the dual-SIM phones, followed by touch screens. "Today, it is all about services and applications," Shivakumar added.
Chris Weber, EVP sales and marketing, Nokia said in a statement that Shivakumar had played an integral role in Nokia's growth in India and beyond. "But it's not just what Shiv has done for Nokia externally - his personal convictions on the importance of leadership have resonated throughout the company, and he has sponsored many leadership programs throughout the region," he added. ###
>> Shivakumar resigns from Nokia
Thomas K Thomas
The Hindu Business Line
New Delhi
March 28 2013
thehindubusinessline.com
After spending 8 years with Nokia, D Shivakumar, Senior Vice-President (India, Middle East, Asia),has decided to call it quits. The man who led Nokia’s India operations from 2006 till 2011, before moving to Dubai to lead the region, says he wants come back to India.
Speaking to Business Line, Shivakumar said, “I have done my bit for Nokia. India is the market where I want to get back to.”
Shivakumar will continue in the current role in Nokia till June 30 before heading back to India. Apart from career prospects, his family continues to be based in India, even after he moved to West Asia. “I have not decided on my next move,” he said when asked whether he would remain in the telecom sector. He will be mentoring Arto Nummela, VP Smart Devices Nokia as his successor to hit the ground running.
Shivakumar’s exit, however, comes at a time when the Finnish handset maker is facing a lot of heat from the likes of Samsung and Apple. Nokia’s market share in India and globally has declined, especially in the smartphone segment. But Shivakumar says that the handset maker, which once dominated mobile market, will continue to get stronger. “Mobile phones and Internet is changing the way information is now accessible down to a farmer. Nokia has been and will be a major player in bringing this change more quickly,” he said.
Under Shiv, as he is popularly called, Nokia built its entire services portfolio, including Nokia Life Tools. While Shiv is credited for driving up Nokia’s brand from number 71 to Number 1 in the country, there were some major misses in India which happened under his watch including the delay in bringing dual SIM card phones. Although Nokia captured back the dual SIM phone market later, the delay allowed a number of local Indian brands a foot in the door.
The other disappointment was the way Nokia Money services was closed within 2 years of launching it. When asked if he could change anything if given a chance, Shivakumar said,” Of course there are learnings. When you look at the past, one can see how things could have been done dealt with differently.”
People who have closely worked with Shivakumar say that one of his biggest contributions was to drive leadership within the organisation. Chris Weber, EVP Sales And Marketing Nokia said, “In addition to what Shiv has done for Nokia externally – his personal convictions on the importance of leadership have resonated throughout the company.”
“He has been the de-facto HR manager and the best channel of communication between the junior most guy on the field to the head of businesses or units,” said Poonam Kaul, Director, Communications, Nokia India.
Nokia under Shivakumar
• The mobility retail outlets moved from 35,000 to more than 200,000
• Pioneered new business models for business and in customer care
• Missed dual SIM phone wave
• Building services as a value add to phones, such as Nokia Life Tools which was conceptualised in India, and is global now
• Building the brand in India from No. 71 to No. 1 on the most trusted list.
• Build HR processes like shadow programme, reverse mentoring. ###
- Eric - |
