Per Narvinger has been selected as the next President and CEO of Ericsson by the board of directors, as Börje Ekholm decides to step down later this year.

Having first joined Ericsson in 1997, Narvinger has both strong knowledge and broad experience from working across different areas of the business and the wider telecoms and IT industry. He will now be taking the helm of one of the most well-known companies in the sector as it works to power up 6G technology.

Speaking on his appointment, he shared: “It is a great honour to step into this role in a company where I have spent my entire professional career. It has been a pleasure working with Börje in our joint efforts to create a stronger Ericsson.”

Who is Per Narvinger?

Narvinger is currently Ericsson’s executive vice president and head of business area networks, having held the role since March 2025. First joining the company as a research engineer nearly thirty years ago, he has worked across a wide variety of roles encompassing research and standardisation, development, product management and sales.

Having worked in leadership roles, including as head of cloud software and services, he has worked closely with Ericsson customers worldwide. He has also worked for the company in Australia and Spain before.

Prior to heading up the cloud business, Narvinger was head of product area networks, where he was responsible for the company’s network systems and wireless infrastructure business. This includes radio software and hardware for generations of cellular technologies, spanning 2G to 5G, in addition to cloud-native RAN, indoor and transport portfolios.

He has also previously been the head of Ericsson in Northern and Central Europe, a business area that employs 2,000 people to deliver products and services to customers across 16 countries.

“The Board is pleased to announce that Per Narvinger has been appointed CEO of Ericsson as of October 1, 2026,” said Jan Carlson, chair of Ericsson’s Board of Directors. “He has deep technical knowledge of our industry as well as extensive commercial experience and has proved himself in several key leadership positions.

“The Board is very pleased to welcome Per into this role at a very important time for the company.”

Industry challenges, rapid digital change

Ericsson’s change in leadership comes at a time when the telecoms industry is facing significant challenges, including continued AI demand and geopolitical factors impacting the wider network market.

Narvinger added: “This is a pivotal time in our industry. As AI continues to industrialise, this will increasingly require advanced connectivity solutions, an area where Ericsson is leading. With our extraordinary employees who are cementing technology leadership as a foundation for success, we will continue to provide great value to our customers. I look forward to taking up the role as President and CEO of this amazing company.”

He also told The Financial Times that he predicts people will be even more dependent on mobile networks moving forward.

“People are already getting very dependent on AI chatbots, and of course, you will want to have access to those regardless of where you are,” he explained. “That also means you will…hopefully value your connectivity more.”

His appointment ends an era for Ericsson, as the company has been defined by the strategic advancements undertaken during Ekholm’s nearly 10-year leadership. The company has grown to a strong position, continuing to deliver trusted communications networks, and its market position is stronger than ever, the board shared yesterday.

“When I stepped in as CEO in 2017, the company faced considerable headwinds. Since then, we have turned Ericsson around,” Ekholm said. “Today, Ericsson is driving the transformation of mobile connectivity by changing how networks are used and commercialised, and we are leading the industry into the next stage of AI: the physical AI era.

“It is our ability to innovate, to adapt and to compete globally that continues to define us.”

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