HMD Global
Human Mobile Devices (HMD), formally HMD Global, is a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. The company is made up of the mobile phone business that the Nokia Corporation sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smartphones and feature phones on 1 December 2016. The company has exclusive rights to the Nokia brand for mobile phones through a licensing agreement.[5] The HMD brand was initially only used for corporate purposes and does not appear in advertising, whereas the name "Nokia Mobile" is used on social media.[6][7] As it was launched, the acronym HMD stood for Hon Hai Mobile Devices. This was in reference to the main shareholder at the time of its creation: the Taiwanese group Foxconn. In January 2024, HMD rebranded to 'Human Mobile Devices', and will use their own branding on future devices alongside that of Nokia.[8]
"Nokia Mobile" redirects here. For the original corporate owner, see Nokia. For Nokia Lumia, the former corporate owner, see Microsoft Mobile.Company type
Osakeyhtiö (Limited company)
1 December 2016
Jean-Francois Baril
Worldwide
HMD
€1.2 billion (2022)[3]
−€76.9 million (2022)[3]
500+ (2024)[4]
HMD has a partnership with Google, and uses the Android operating system under the Android One program on their smartphones,[9] whereas HMD's feature phones use the Series 30+ platform, or most recently, the Firefox OS-derived KaiOS.
HMD is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and is largely run by former Nokia executives.[10] The first CEO was Arto Nummela, a Nokia veteran of 17 years, until July 2017, when company president Florian Seiche took over as CEO.[11] Manufacturing is outsourced to Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile.[12][13][14] Nokia has investment[15] in HMD, and remains a partner, setting mandatory requirements and providing patents and technologies, in return for royalty payments.[16][17] HMD uses a marketing strategy advertising Nokia phones as "pure, secure and up to date" (referring to a stock Android interface and its commitment to fast updates) as well as brand trust and nostalgia.[18][19][20][21]
Operation[edit]
Staff[edit]
The CEO and presidency role is fulfilled by Florian Seiche, formerly Nokia Europe's senior vice president of sales and marketing, who also had stints at Siemens, Orange and HTC.[127] The original CEO was Arto Nummela, who joined Nokia in 1994 and served in several positions including product creation and portfolio before moving to Microsoft Mobile when it was formed 2014.[128] On 19 July 2017 Nummela left the company by "mutual agreement", leading to the president, Seiche, to become acting CEO.[129][130]
On 15 August 2016, Pekka Rantala, former CEO of Rovio Entertainment, became HMD's chief marketing officer,[131] commenting that Nokia will "rise again." Rantala previously held several positions at Nokia from 1994 to 2011 such as leader of Nokia's European operations.[132][133]
Headquarters[edit]
HMD were originally based at Building 2 of the Nokia Campus in Karaportti in Espoo, Finland, opposite Nokia Corporation's headquarters.[134] In November 2018, HMD moved to a new premises 3 km (1.9 mi) away in Bertel Jungin aukio, a square named after former Finnish-Swede architect Bertel Jung.[135] The same building also houses TNS Mobile Oy, a subsidiary of FIH Mobile which distributes HMD Global's products.[28] HMD's other main offices are located in London, England; Noida, India and Dubai, UAE.[136]
