Nokia Technologies Poaches Executive From Samsung

Gregory Lee has been appointed by Nokia as the Nokia Technologies’ president. The Nokia division is in charge of medical products, mobile devices branding and the intellectual property portfolio of Nokia. Lee will also join the telecommunication giant’s Group Leadership team. Prior to his appointment Nokia Technologies’ business development and strategy head, Brad Rodrigues, had been the acting president for close to a year after the exit of Ramzi Haidamus.

Some of the products that have been developed by Nokia Technologies include the Ozo virtual reality camera. The unit has also released some medial products after it acquired Withings, a digital health-tracking firm.

Samsung stint

Previously Lee worked at Samsung Electronics where he had been for more than a decade. His most recent position at Samsung was president and chief executive officer of the North American unit of Samsung Electronics where he was charged with the responsibility of driving profitability, fast growth and operational excellence. As head of the Samsung Electronics in North America, Lee managed a product portfolio that consisted on consumer electronics and mobile phones. He was also in charge of new markets in areas such as digital content, virtual reality devices and digital health.

“Gregory’s passion for innovation and operational excellence, along with his proven ability to build and lead global consumer technology businesses, make him well suited to advance Nokia’s efforts in virtual reality, digital health and beyond,” said the chief executive officer and president of Nokia, Rajeev Suri.

Consumer goods firms

Lee, a holder of an undergraduate biochemistry degree, is a University of California at San Diego alum. His career spans three decades during which time he has served as the global head of marketing for Samsung, the chief executive officer and president of Samsung Electronics in Southeast Asia. Lee has also served as the chief executive officer and president of Samsung Telecommunications in America. Before he joined Samsung Lee had stints at Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s and Johnson & Johnson where he served in various departments including strategic initiatives, sales and product development.

As Nokia Technologies’ president, Lee will be stationed in the state of California and he will be reporting to Suri. And following his appointment Nokia’s Group Leadership team will now consist of Rajeev SUri as the chair, Gregory Lee, Basil Alwan, Hans-Juergen Bill, Marcus Weldon, Kathrin Buvac, Marc Rouanne, Barry French, Igor Leprince, Federico Guillén, Kristian Pullola, Monika Maurer, Bhaskar Gorti, Maria Varsellona and Ashish Chowdhary.