Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg Is Out

Shares in Ericsson inched up Monday after the struggling broadband and mobile tech supplier announced that Hans Vestberg had stepped down as president and CEO effectively immediately.

Ericsson has named Jan Frykhammar, executive VP and CFO, as interim CEO as it seeks a full-time replacement for Vestberg. Carl Mellander has been named activing CFO.

Vestberg is exiting as Ericsson’s profits and its stock price has slid under his watch while surging competitors, such as China’s Huawei, have seen a sharp increase in revenues, and as Ericsson has come under increased pressure from the recent combination of rivals Nokia and Alcatel Lucent. Under Vestberg, Ericsson formed a technology and business partnership with Cisco Systems aimed at helping both companies drive more scale and target next-generation networks.

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