Ericsson has announced the departure of senior vice president Peter Laurin, just a week after a shareholder revolt against the company's alleged involvement in payments to the Islamic State group.
Laurin, who has been with Ericsson since 2001 and part of its executive team since 2017, was the head of its business area managed services division where he oversaw network operations around the world. He will leave in August to head up automation startup Piab.
"Peter has been instrumental in turning around and transforming our Managed Services business and successfully led Ericsson's digitalisation and IT journey. He is a valued member of the Ericsson leadership team and I wish Peter all the very best in this new role as CEO of Piab," said Ericsson's president and CEO Börje Ekholm.
At an Ericsson AGM meeting last week, shareholders, led by activist Cevian Capital, voted against granting a discharge to the company's board members and Ekholm, which would have released them of liability.
Cevian, which is also unhappy with the way the company has been run, is principally concerned with an ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over "unusual expense claims in Iraq", which date back to 2018. The revolt means that Ericsson's top executives can be held personally liable under Swedish law if the DoJ finds any evidence of wrongdoing.
RELATED RESOURCE
Operationalising anti-fraud on the mainframe
Reducing losses in banking, cards, and payments
Laurin was in charge of Ericsson's Business Area Managed Services in 2018 and his role involved managing network operations in other countries. In 2019, the telecoms giant agreed on a settlement with the DoJ over international bribery claims. The company was accused of illegally paying officials in certain territories so that it could continue to operate in the region.
However, Ekholm has confirmed that the DoJ has informed Ericsson that it failed to disclose "sufficient information" about possible misconduct in Iraq prior to the settlement.
The accusation is that Ericsson sought permission from ISIS affiliates or representatives to work in an ISIS-controlled city. It claims that the company made multi-million dollar payments over a decade to sustain its business in the country which could have inadvertently financed terrorist operations.
-
Hounslow Council partners with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build resilience and transition away from legacy techSpomsored One of the most diverse and fastest-growing boroughs in London has completed a massive cloud migration project. Supported by AWS, it was able to work through any challenges
-
Salesforce targets better data, simpler licensing to spur Agentforce adoptionNews The combination of Agentforce 360, Data 360, and Informatica is more context for enterprise AI than ever before
-
UK firms are pouring money into AI, but they won’t see a return on investment unless they address these key issuesNews An SAP report projects increased AI investment, but cautions that too many organizations are taking a fragmented approach
-
Intel makes high-level hires while factory workers are warned of layoffsNews The company is appointing four senior executives as part of efforts to refocus on engineering and customer relationships
-
UiPath names Simon Pettit as new AVP for UK and IrelandNews The seasoned leader will spearhead region-specific transformation projects as UiPath looks to drive operational growth and customer engagement
-
How to empower employees to accelerate emissions reductionin depth With ICT accounting for as much as 3% of global carbon emissions, the same as aviation, the industry needs to increase emissions reduction
-
Worldwide IT spending to grow 4.3% in 2023, with no significant AI impactNews Spending patterns have changed as companies take an inward focus
-
Report: Female tech workers disproportionately affected by industry layoffsNews Layoffs continue to strike companies throughout the tech industry, with data showing females in both the UK and US are bearing the brunt of them more so than males
-
How can small businesses cope with inflation?Tutorial With high inflation increasing the cost of doing business, how can small businesses weather the storm?
-
How to deal with inflation while undergoing digital transformationIn-depth How can organizations stave off inflation while attempting to grow by digitally transforming their businesses?
