Ericsson’s main owners have agreed that the company should replace CEO Hans Vestberg but there is difficulty in finding a suitable and willing successor, according to business daily Dagens Industri’s online edition, citing sources. Di.se said it had reported as long ago as early May that Anders Runevad, CEO of Denmark’s Vestas Wind, is a candidate.
Di said the Wallenberg dynasty’s holding company, called Investor, and Ericsson’s other major shareholder, Industrivarden, have agreed that Vestberg should go. Investor CEO Johan Forssell declined to comment on the claim that the company wanted a new CEO at Ericsson, and Industrivarden had no response to give either, said Di.se.
The newspaper said Runevad used to be deputy CEO at Sony Ericsson, and head of Ericsson in central and western Europe. Di said it had no information as to whether Runevad has been asked about the CEO role.
One source told the newspaper there is no internal candidate for the role, and external ones are dissuaded by the company’s situation. Di said the change at the helm might not happen until the end of the calendar year, when Vestberg has launched new cost-cutting measures presented with the second quarter results on 19 July. This would leave his successor with a ready-laid table, it said.
One commentator told Di it was odd that the quarterly results had pointed out that the cost savings are being made with the support of the board, as that should be a given.
