Nordic Strengthens Executive Management Team

Nordic Semiconductor is strengthening its executive management team with additional business leadership and streamlining organizational structure with four new technology-centric business units.

Øyvind Strøm joins Nordic to lead the new Short-Range business unit, which includes our Bluetooth, 802.15.4 based and proprietary 2.4GHz technologies.

Øyvind Birkenes joins the company to lead the new Long-Range business unit covering our Cellular IoT, DECT NR+ and cloud efforts.

Interim SVP R&D Joakim Ferm has been promoted to lead the new Wi-Fi business unit.

The new Power Management business unit will temporarily be led by Kjetil Holstad, EVP Strategy & Product Management.

“Building on Nordic’s proven platform and world-class engineering teams, this new structure will sharpen our product- and customer focus, enabling increased agility and market responsiveness throughout product development cycles.   We invest significant resources in product development, and this is an important step forward towards generating higher returns on our investment over time,” said Nordic Semiconductor CEO Vegard Wollan.

Strøm, EVP of the new Short-Range business unit, has more than 25 years of semiconductor experience from various global product- and business leadership roles in Atmel and Microchip. He was heading Microchip’s European microcontroller business for several years, and comes from the position as CEO of the Schibsted company Sentinel Software.

Birkenes, EVP of the new Long-Range business unit, has spent the last 10 years as CEO of Airthings. He holds extensive management and technology experience, and also led the Low Power Wireless semiconductor business of Texas Instruments for many years. Birkenes knows Nordic well from his previous tenure as a board member.

Strøm and Birkenes will join Nordic with effect from mid-April 2024.

Ferm, SVP of the new Wi-Fi business unit, came to Nordic from Nokia almost 16 years ago and has held various positions in product design and project management across Nordic’s short-range, long-range and Wi-Fi product ranges. Ferm will also continue to fill the role as interim SVP R&D during the transition to the new company structure.

The three will join Wollan’s executive management team, which also includes CFO and EVP Finance Pål Elstad, EVP Sales & Marketing Geir Langeland, EVP Supply Chain Ole-Fredrik Morken, EVP Strategy & Product Management Kjetil Holstad, EVP People & Communication Katarina Finneng, SVP Quality Ola Bostrøm, and SVP IR Ståle Ytterdal.

The reorganization into a new company structure with the four new technology-centric business units will be implemented through 2024. The reorganization will not affect Nordic’s external financial reporting structure in 2024.

“Since taking the helm at the beginning of 2024, Vegard has already driven important and impactful changes at Nordic. This streamlining of the company’s execution model will support both ongoing and future product development projects and further strengthen customer relationships and commercial delivery,” said Birger Steen, Chair of the Board of Nordic Semiconductor.