Perhaps Nokia is seeking to reside close to the site of their Arbitration...
Nokia to split top management with New York move
Wednesday December 17, 10:01 am ET
HELSINKI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) said on Wednesday it would open a New York office next year in a move that would split up its top management for the first time.
The Finnish company said Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson and the head of its Enterprise Solutions unit, Mary McDowell, would be based in the New York office. Both are U.S. citizens.
Nokia said it was currently looking for a site, with a decision expected in the near future.
The move is a break from tradition for Nokia, which has always concentrated its core management at its headquarters in the Helsinki suburb of Espoo.
"The new office will be operational in mid-2004 and within two years it is expected to...(have) approximately 100-150 people," the company said.
Nokia has some 6,600 employees in the United States, which in 2002 was its largest market in terms of sales at 4.67 billion euros ($5.76 billion). The company's total staff last year was 52,000.
Local media have speculated that Nokia may one day leave Finland, talk fuelled by the at-times pointed comments from Nokia Chief Executive Jorma Ollila on Finland's high taxes and the difficulties in recruiting foreigners to the Nordic country.
But Nokia spokesman Lauri Kivinen said the move did not reflect a weakening of commitment to Finland, and was done for "pure business reasons", given the market importance of the United States.
He also cited New York's status as a global financial centre.
