Ericsson names insider Per Narvinger to replace CEO Börje Ekholm

Ericsson chose a company veteran for its next chief executive, naming Per Narvinger to replace Börje Ekholm and signaling continuity at a time when Europe’s telecom equipment makers are under pressure to deliver growth from 5G, software and more secure networks. The transition is orderly on paper, but it also doubles as a test of whether Ericsson is simply managing succession or trying to sharpen its strategy for the next phase of industry competition.

Narvinger will become president and chief executive officer on October 1, 2026, after Ekholm steps down on September 30. Ekholm will leave Ericsson’s board the next day and remain as executive adviser to the new chief executive until June 15, 2027, giving the company nearly nine extra months of overlap. Narvinger currently runs Business Area Networks, a post he has held since March 15, 2025, after leading Business Area Cloud Software and Services from 2022.

The choice keeps the job in the hands of an insider who knows Ericsson’s product stack and customer base from the inside. Narvinger joined the company in 1997, later led Ericsson in Northern and Central Europe, where about 2,000 employees served customers in 16 countries, and also took long-term assignments in Australia and Spain. Board chair Jan Carlson said the company was pleased to announce Narvinger as chief executive as of October 1, 2026, and called out his “deep technical knowledge” and “extensive commercial experience.”

That background matters because Ericsson is not just changing leaders, it is deciding what kind of telecom company it wants to be. Narvinger’s mix of network and cloud software experience points to a strategy built around carrier-grade infrastructure, enterprise services and AI-enabled connectivity rather than a wholesale reset. In a market where operators are still spending cautiously, and where European vendors are competing with Nokia and Huawei for the next generation of network upgrades, Ericsson appears to be betting that execution counts more than reinvention.

Ekholm framed the handoff as the end of a long turnaround. He said that when he became chief executive in 2017, Ericsson faced “considerable headwinds,” and that the company has since “turned around and emerged as a global communications and technology leader.” The timing is notable: Ericsson published its Annual Report 2025 on March 4, 2026 and held its annual general meeting on March 31 in Kista, Stockholm, putting the succession on the back of a year that already highlighted strategy, governance and financial discipline. For Ericsson, the move looks less like a rupture than a controlled reset, with the board choosing continuity as the telecom industry enters another strategic cycle.