Bangalore: Nokia India announced the appointment of P.Balaji as Vice President and Managing Director for the India Area. In this role, Balaji will be responsible for growing Nokia’s mobile phones and smart devices business in India while providing strategic direction and operational focus.  Besides building and consolidating Nokia’s market presence, Balaji will focus on energizing the Nokia brand, driving partnerships and strategic alliances and developing the capabilities of the Nokia organization in India.

Announcing the appointment, D.Shivakumar, Senior Vice President, IMEA Nokia, said,  “Balaji is highly respected in the IT and telecom industry and has an excellent track record of managing businesses, people, customer and government relationships. He brings in exceptional understanding of the telecom industry having worked in diverse functions across the sector. His experience and leadership make him a strong addition to the India leadership team.  I am confident that Balaji will provide the required direction and leadership in delivering significant value to our consumers and partners across India”.

Balaji brings with him over two decades of experience in the IT and telecom industry. In his previous role as Managing Director of Sony Mobile Communications, India, he was responsible for growth strategy, establishing strong operator and distribution partnerships and driving sales for the company.

In the last 22 years, Balaji has held leadership roles in diverse functions spanning across sales, marketing, product management, operations, strategy, technical solutions, communications and corporate affairs in Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, AT&T and Tata group.  He has contributed significantly in global strategy formulation at Ericsson and Lucent and has been associated with start-up ventures of TATA group, AT&T and Lucent during his career.
He is an Electronics Engineer from IIT Roorkee and did his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.  Over the years, he has been the chairman of several taskforces/expert groups set up by Department of Telecommunications and Planning Commission on policy matters.