Ericsson appoints new President and CEO

Hans Vestberg is currently CFO and Executive Vice President. Hans Vestberg is succeeding Carl-Henric Svanberg who has accepted to take on the position as Chairman of BP, the world's fourth largest company. Hans Vestberg is 44 years old and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, in 1991. He joined Ericsson the same year and was within a short time period appointed to various international managerial positions in China, Sweden, Chile, Brazil and the US. Between 1998 and 2000 he was CFO of Ericsson in Brazil. In the years 2000 to 2002, Vestberg was Chief Financial Officer for Ericsson in North America and Ericsson's controller for the Americas. From 2002 to 2003 Vestberg served as President of Ericsson in Mexico. He became Senior Vice President and head of business unit Global Services in 2003 and was appointed Executive Vice President in 2005. Vestberg was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2007. "Hans Vestberg will lead Ericsson in a phase where the transformation of telecom operators' networks and implementation of IP-based services are crucial in order to continue the company's successful creation of shareholder value.", said Michael Treschow chairman of the Ericsson Board of Directors. Ericsson's present President and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg will remain in his position until year-end when he takes on his new assignment as chairman of BP. Svanberg will remain as member of the Ericsson Board of Directors and the main owners, Investor and Industrivärden, have expressed their wish to see Carl-Henric Svanberg as member of the Ericsson Board of Directors long-term. Svanberg joined Ericsson on April 8, 2003 at a troublesome time when the company struggled with losses and restructuring. One of his first actions was to introduce his leadership philosophies and focus on operational excellence. Culture and ways of working changed in the company and is a major reason for today's good profitability.