Rajeev Suri is stepping down as President and CEO of Nokia (NOK  ). He will continue to serve as an advisor to the Nokia Board until next January.

"Nokia will always be part of me, and I want to thank everyone that I have worked with over the years for helping make Nokia a better place and me a better leader," said Suri in a statement. "I leave the company with a belief that a return to better performance is on the horizon and with pride for what we have accomplished over time."

Suri will have been with Nokia for a total of 24 years, with the last six years as CEO. One of his biggest accomplishments as CEO was acquiring the French Alcatel-Lucent in 2015, an acquisition which placed Nokia on the map in the telecommunications equipment global world alongside major competitors Ericsson (ERIC  ) of Sweden and China's privately-held Huawei Technologies.

Pekka Lundmark, currently President and CEO of Fortum, a Finnish energy company, will take over Suri's executive roles at Nokia as of September 1, 2020.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Nokia, an extraordinary company that has so much potential and so many talented people. Together we can create shareholder value by delivering on Nokia's mission to create the technology to connect the world," said Lundmark. "I am confident that the company is well-positioned for the 5G era and it is my goal to ensure that we meet our commitments to our customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders."

Before the early 2000s and rising success of Apple's (AAPL  ) iPhones and Google's (GOOGL  ) Android products, which are manufactured by the South Korean-based Samsung, Nokia was the world's largest mobile phone vendor.

Since 2014, when Nokia sold its smartphone business to Microsoft (MSFT  ), the Finland-based telecommunications company has been predominantly focusing its efforts on becoming a market leader in the realm of 5G technology. Nokia has a series of recent press releases announcing new partnerships, improved digital experiences, and 5G network improvements on a global scale.

That said, Nokia has a long road ahead, with shares falling roughly 33% over the past year.