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Nokia head of sales steps down after only a year on Leadership Team

Nokia head of sales steps down after only a year on Leadership Team

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Colin Giles, Nokia's executive vice president of sales and a member of the Nokia leadership team is stepping down after 20 years with the company.

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colin giles

Colin Giles, Nokia's executive vice president of sales and a member of the Nokia Leadership Team is stepping down after 20 years with the company. Under Giles leadership, the number of mobile phones sold by Nokia has decreased by 24 percent over the past year. Nokia is not planning on replacing Giles, instead saying it sees the departure as "reducing a layer of sales management." As part of the restructure, all regional senior VPs will now report to Niklas Savander, executive VP of markets.

Nokia said that the VP will stay with the company until June 30th, 2012 to help aid a smooth transition. Giles joined the company back in 1992 and last February was made one of 14 members of the Nokia Leadership Team, an elite group at the upper echelon of the company, chaired by Stephen Elop. He cites the desire to spend more time with his family as his reason for leaving. Along with the news, Nokia said in a prepared statement:

"Colin's leadership has been very valuable as we shifted Nokia's strategy and aligned the sales organization around our new product families, Lumia and Asha," said Stephen Elop, president and CEO. "We appreciate the commitment that Colin has demonstrated to Nokia over the years, and we wish him much success as he takes the next step in his career."