Norwegian telecoms group Telenor has created a new silo-busting enterprise 5G and IoT office to stimulate collaboration between its Nordic operations.
The new Nordic Hub will take a ‘lean’ approach to co-innovation, the company said, seeking to foster collaboration between teams and technologies in the region. The company wants to drive innovation in the Industry 4.0 space, using the lean methodology of continuous improvement and optimised resources, particularly around new wide-band 5G and low-power IoT technologies.
The new unit will be led by Jukka Leinonen, who will continue as head of the Nordics for Telenor, on the group’s executive management team, as well as chief executive at Finnish telco and Telenor subsidiary DNA. He will be joined by Jesper Hansen, currently chief executive at Telenor Denmark, who joins as the Nordic Hub’s chief operating officer from August 1.
Hansen will be succeeded by Lars Thomsen, currently acting head of commercial and strategy), at Telenor Denmark. Thomsen will leave the group’s management team. In a further management change, Anne Kvam, head of corporate affairs, also leaves the management team, and takes charge of the group’s environmental strategy.
The new Nordic Hub team will facilitate greater collaboration across the region, fostering growth and competitiveness in “key areas, such as 5G, IoT, and the business and SME segment”, said Telenor.
Leinonen commented: “With strong presence in the four Nordic markets, we are pursuing further growth opportunities across the region, through best-practice sharing, resource pooling and scaling of innovative products and solutions. This will increase customer value and improve the overall quality, service and experience in all Nordic markets.”
Sigve Brekke, president and chief executive for the group, said: “With Jukka at the helm of this united and collaborative force, we are well-positioned as a strong Nordic telco competitor.”
Last month, Telenor announced the merger of its business ‘clusters’ in Asia into a single unit, as an Asia Hub, which will coordinate activities and collaboration between its five telecoms operations in the region. The management team has been streamlined, to incorporate these new hub business and raise the percentage of women in the senior team (now three in seven, or 43 percent).
Brekke commented: “These steps help to ensure that we are fit for the future, ready to uncover new growth, and at all times keeping our increasingly advanced customers connected to what matters most.”
