Former President of Ericsson Laitala appointed to lead Sri Lanka and Malaysian operations

Ericsson, the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators, recently announced the appointment of Janne Laitala as President of Ericsson Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Laitala will be responsible for developing and strengthening Ericsson’s business in the country, and will lead a team of approximately 700 employees in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Prior to this position, Laitala was the President of Ericsson Finland, and was an active industry spokesperson in his capacity as a board member of the Finnish Federation for Communications and Teleinformatics (FiCom), a co-op organisation for the ICT industry in Finland.

A graduate of Espoonlahti Business College in Finland, Laitala began his career in Ericsson in 1994, working his way through many levels of sales and managerial accomplishments until his promotion as President of Ericsson Finland in 2006.

Commenting on the appointment, President of Ericsson Southeast Asia and Oceania Arun Bansal said, “I am pleased about Janne Laitala’s appointment as the President of Ericsson Malaysia and Sri Lanka. His experience will allow Ericsson to explore opportunities for growth and development with its customers in Malaysia and Sri Lanka, particularly in the areas of mobile broadband. His extensive experience in other Ericsson markets around the world has equipped him with a unique set of skills to lead operations and strengthen our business.”

Janne Laitala said: “Ericsson is ready to meet the needs and challenges of our customers and partners in the telecommunications industry in Malaysia and Sri Lanka. We have helped shape the local telecommunications landscape since 1994 in Sri Lanka and we remain committed to this market and to our stakeholders.”

“We are focusing on bringing about our global vision of a Networked Society where people, knowledge, devices and information are networked for the growth of society, life and business — a world where people are empowered, businesses are strengthened and societies are revitalised,” he added.

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the “prime driver in an all-communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 90,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 203.3 billion (USD 28.2 billion) in 2010. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.