By James Ratemo

"It is the right people with the right passion and right attitude that has brought Nokia this far," says a confident Rick Simonson, the Executive Vice President at the leading mobile phone manufacturer.

Tall and focused, Simonson has been a top executive at Nokia for nine years and is keen to maintain the winning culture at the company.

Simonson was in Nairobi on Thursday last week for a global launch of Nokia’s first dual sim card handsets, and a bicycle charger, aimed at tightening the grip in emerging markets.

He is very clear on what he wants for the company that has led the charts globally at innovation and creativity in mobile phone applications.

"Right people come and stay at Nokia for its sustainable cultural values…it is team work that has kept us at the top," said Simonson during a one-on-one Interview with FJ.

But what is his secret to the winning formula?

"A company is about moving thousands of people towards a common purpose. With commitment, the results are great," adds the executive who enjoys running, mountain hiking, downhill skiing and a bit of golf in his spare time.

"As a top executive in a company, you have to be concerned of the kind of team you construct and listen to your customers," reveals the jovial and friendly father of five.

He concurs with Nokia’s Head of Africa Brad Brockhaug, who also believes that Nokia has understood her market, consumers and delivered on her promises.

"Do not underestimate the potential of any market. Just study the market well and respond appropriately," Brockahaug, who was also at the global launch and the Head of Sales in Sub-Saharan Africa told FJ.

Old and obsolete

Simonson said that Nokia has in the recent past been faced with stinging competition especially with one critic saying "Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry models have made Nokia devices look old and obsolete."

Simonson, however, is nowhere near giving up and is keen to see Nokia regaining her top position in the smartphone sub-sector, which is being threatened by Apple’s i-phone.

The main problem for Nokia, Simonson said, is that "it’s not well positioned in Africa and other emerging markets in Asia and North America, which is a huge market." Born in August 26, 1958, in Middletown, Ohio, USA, Simonson is not new in leadership.

He has been a member of the Group Executive Board of Nokia since January 1, 2004 and a member of the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks since its formation on April 1, 2007. He is also a non-executive Board member of Electronic Arts, Inc since 2006 and as of July 2009 the Lead Director.

He is a Trustee of the International House – New York, a not for profit educational organisation.

Rick holds a bachelor’s degree in science and mining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and a master’s degree in business administration and finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining Nokia, Simonson spent most of his 16 years in banking at Bank of America Securities, where his last position was Managing Director and Head of Global Project Finance, Global Corporate and Investment Bank, San Francisco.

Despite the cutthroat competition from other phone makers like Samsung, LG and Apple Inc, Simonson says Nokia has remained on top due to collaboration with other companies in the line of innovation.

Partnerships

"We have a lot of competition than a couple of years ago. We cannot do all the innovation ourselves. We have partnered with Microsoft for the mobile enterprise solutions, Yahoo to perfect email services and Software maker SAP to fight counterfeits," said Simonson.

But that is not all as far as collaboration and partnership is considered. Nokia has also brought on board individual mobile application developers through the online platform, ovi store and a lot of innovative widgets are already up for use by customers globally.

"We have gone global through the Ovi store to tap the best talents from all over the world," he said.

Simonson revealed that counterfeiters have hurt Nokia’s brand worldwide, but all efforts are being summoned to defeat the criminals.

He said the company has already activated its electronic warranty confirmation service, where customers use a text message to confirm if the warrant is genuine.

Simonson said most Nokia counterfeiters target top brands by including the dual sim feature to lure unsuspecting customers.

"Now that we have unveiled dual sim phones, we hope to counter the counterfeiters and save our customers the agony of buying sub-standard goods," he argued.

Dual sim handsets

Simonson also said Nokia decided to unveil dual sim handsets to satisfy the nagging need from customers in Africa and other emerging markets who prefer dual sim phones to benefit from calling tariffs offered by the different mobile operators.

"This is informed by the need for customers to utilise more than one sim card and benefit from tariff rates offered by different mobile operators…it will reduce the wear and tear by removing the need to change sims," said Simonson.

Expected to retail at between Sh3,000 and Sh4500, he said the Nokia C1-00, C1-01and C2-00 dual sim series aims to satisfy a growing market for dual sim gadgets and fight the rising incidents of counterfeits.

"We have also unveiled an eco-friendly bicycle charger to serve markets off the electricity grid, especially rural Africa and Asia…our interest in the African market is growing," said Simonson.

He said Africa is emerging as a strong market still being fuelled by new subscribers compared to markets in the West. n the bicycle charger, Simonson said the innovation comes after years of research to determine the needs of masses in the emerging markets.

The charger comes with a holder, a converter and a mini generator to allow free and instant charging of a variety of Nokia gadgets as one rides the bicycle.