Nokia grabs ex-Ericsson networks head to replace CTO - Mobile World Live 17 DEC 2020 Nokia appointed former Ericsson executive Nishant Batra as its new chief strategy and technology officer, as CEO Pekka Lundmark begins to rebuild his executive team ahead of a string of forthcoming departures. Batra will join the company in mid-January, taking over CTO responsibilities from Marcus Weldon, one of a number of high-profile executives set to leave Nokia as Lundmark imposes a massive business restructure. The incoming executive spent 12 years at Ericsson, where he held several roles before rising to become head of product area Networks in 2016. He left the Swedish network vendor in 2018 to join automotive company Veoneer as CTO, a job he still holds.