Nokia's Jorma Ollia Receives GSM Association Chairman's Award
14 February 2006
14th February 2006 - Barcelona - The individual who built Nokia into one of the world's best-known brands was honoured at the GSM Association's annual industry Awards ceremony last night in Barcelona. Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila accepted the GSM Association's Chairman's Award, given in recognition of his leadership skills in creating a world-leading mobile communications company.
Presenting the Award, GSM Association chairman Craig Ehrlich said: "This Award is in recognition of the career of a man whose company's achievements and growth have mirrored those of GSM - a vision of communications without borders whether those barriers are physical, national, economic or social."
"Nokia is now one of the world's best known brands - a household name that has come to signify quality, ingenuity - and credibility."
Jorma Ollila joined Nokia in 1985. He became its CEO in 1992 as the first GSM networks launched commercial services in Europe, as Telstra became the first non-European signatory to the fledgling GSM community and as Vodafone and Telecom Finland signed the first roaming agreement.
Throughout the 1990s, under Jorma's leadership, Nokia led the industry in producing lightweight, affordable and fashionable handsets that turned mobile phones into mass-market products. As a result, the company became the world's biggest mobile phone maker in 1998 - a position it has held ever since.
Sponsored by Fortune magazine, The GSM Association Chairman's Award was established in 1995 to recognise outstanding personal or company-wide contributions that spectacularly support the growth and vitality of the GSM mobile community.
Previous winners include Sir Christopher Gent, former Chief Executive of the Vodafone Group and Zhang Li Gui, former President of China Mobile; and companies such as NTTDoCoMo of Japan and Entel PCS of Chile.
For further information contact:
David Pringle
GSM Association
Tel: +44 795 755 6069
Email:press@3gsmworldcongress.com
Mark Smith
GSM Association
Tel: +44 7850 229724
Email:press@3gsmworldcongress.com
Beth Sharples
Companycare Communications
Tel: +44 7766 333277
Email: beth@companycare.com
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