The former CEO of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand has joined Telstra as chief technology officer, the telco revealed today.
Håkan Eriksson also served as Ericsson’s group CTO for nine years and for two years was the company’s president in Silicon Valley.
Eriksson’s predecessor at Telstra, Vish Nandlall, left under a cloud in May, amid questions about the accuracy of his CV.
Eriksson will begin his new role in February, Telstra said.
Telstra group executive, technology innovation and strategy, Stephen Elop, described Eriksson as “an industry veteran with an impressive track record in technology and innovation”.
“I believe Håkan will bring significant leadership to the CTO role with his success in building Ericsson’s technology leadership, driving research development and significant developments in the convergence of wireless and fixed line. In his role as head of Ericsson Silicon Valley, he built strong relationships within the local ecosystem.”
“He has an intimate understanding of the Australian market and our business, a proven track record and a passion for technology and the customer experience,” Elop said.
“Håkan will provide significant global expertise in innovation as the company strides forward with its transformation to become a world class technology company that empowers people to connect.”
Elop, a former Nokia CEO and high-profile Microsoft executive, joined Telstra earlier this year.
The telco announced earlier this month that it had recruited former Juniper chief operations officer and chief financial officer Robyn Denholm to be its chief operations officer, replacing Telstra veteran Kate McKenzie. McKenzie’s retirement was announced earlier this year.
Other major changes in Telstra’s executive ranks this year have included the departure of its CIO and cloud chief Erez Yarkoni and of its chief information security officer, Mike Burgess, who left in November.
Rival telco Vodafone revealed yesterday that it had appointed general manager, access network delivery Kevin Millroy to the role of CTO. Millroy has been acting in the role since Vodafone CTO Benoit Hanssen left the company.