HMD Global, the company behind new Nokia phones, loses its CEO

Arto Nummela, now former CEO of HMD Global, has left the company due to personal reasons just over a year after HMD acquired rights to use the Nokia brand.

The return of the Nokia brand has been one of the most exciting news in the tech world, but if you’ve been following the story, you probably know that while the newly launched devices use the Nokia name, they are in fact manufactured and marketed by a Finnish startup called HMD Global. HMD Global licensed the beloved mobile phone brand more than a year ago and has seen a huge success with devices like the Nokia 3310 and Nokia 6 so far.

This is largely thanks to its CEO Arto Nummela, who joined the company last year after having worked at Nokia for a decade as well as Microsoft, HTC, and Orange. Well, HMD Global announced today that Arto Nummela would no longer serve as the company CEO with immediate effect. In a prepared statement to the press, the company explains that Nummela has left the company due to personal reasons and that it was a mutual decision:

Through mutual agreement between Chief Executive Officer Arto Nummela and the HMD Global Board of Directors, Arto Nummela will leave HMD with immediate effect… Arto Nummela has played a key role in the creation of the HMD Global operation, building the team and launching our first products. On behalf of the whole Board, I thank Arto for his contribution and wish him well in his future endeavors. In addition to his current role as President, Florian Seiche has been appointed to the role of acting CEO, starting immediately.

The exact reason behind Nummela and the company Board’s decision remains unclear, and it’s too early to tell whether this sudden departure will have any impact on HMD’s strategy, portfolio, and relationship with Nokia. While the Nokia 6 has been doing well around the world, for a company to lose a senior executive right before the alleged launch of its first-ever flagship device can’t be a good thing.