Nokia Chief Legal Officer Heading to ABB as Her Replacements Are Named
Maria Varsellona will leave Nokia in November and become group general counsel at ABB. Nokia also announced that deputy general counsel Nassib Abou-Khalil will become the chief legal officer when Varsellona leaves and Jenni Lukander will take over as president of Nokia Technologies.
June 19, 2019 at 04:06 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
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ABB, the Zürich, Switzerland-based robotics and technology company, announced on Wednesday that Nokia's chief legal officer will become its general counsel.
Maria Varsellona will leave Nokia in November and become group general counsel at ABB. She will remain in that role until March 31, 2020, when she will become general counsel and company secretary of ABB. She will replace Diane de Saint Victor, who will stay with the company to concentrate on board mandates, according to the press release.
ABB chairman and CEO Peter Voser said in the press release that Varsellona's experience at Nokia will help ABB advance its digital leadership.
"Maria Varsellona brings extensive knowledge of contract law and mergers and acquisitions, among other specialisations, as well as significant experience from various technology and industrial companies," Voser said.
Maria Varsellona.Voser also thanked Saint Victor for her years working with the company.
Along with her role as general counsel at Nokia, Varsellona also serves as Nokia's president of Nokia Technologies. According to her LinkedIn profile, Varsellona has spent most of her career in-house and has worked at Tetra Pak, Sidel, General Electric and Hertz.
On Wednesday, Nokia announced that deputy general counsel Nassib Abou-Khalil will become the chief legal officer when Varsellona leaves, and Jenni Lukander will take over as president of Nokia Technologies.
Abou-Khalil joined Nokia in 2014 as head of legal and compliance for the Middle East and Africa. According to the press release, Abou-Khalil previously held in-house counsel roles at Yahoo and GE. Lukander has worked at Nokia since 2007 and currently works at Nokia as the head of regulatory and competition law, according to her LinkedIn profile.
"Jenni and Nassib are ideally positioned for their new roles," Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said in the press release. "Both are strong leaders with deep expertise and track records of performance. I want to thank Maria for her many contributions to Nokia. She leaves us with my respect and gratitude for her leadership over the last six years."
Press representatives from ABB and Nokia did not respond to requests for additional comment on Wednesday.
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