Ericsson named Niklas Heuveldop CEO of its cloud unit Vonage and head of Business Area Global Communications Platform, replacing Rory Read who plans to leave the Swedish vendor at the end of March.

Heuveldop is currently head of Market Area North America and will take up the new roles on 1 February. Read will serve as adviser until his departure.

Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm stated Heuveldop takes the helm of its communications platform unit at a “pivotal time”.

“The Vonage acquisition and our investments in the global network platform are foundational to our long-term strategy execution, driving growth in both the enterprise segment, but also reinforcing our network infrastructure business”.

He credited Heuveldop with expanding Ericsson’s market share in North America, including a $14 billion open RAN deal with AT&T.

Ericsson named current head of North America strategy, technology, marketing and business development Yossi Cohen as Heuveldop’s replacement, a move also involving becoming a SVP and reporting to CEO Borje Ekholm.

Cohen held multiple positions during a 22-year career at Ericsson including roles involving Verizon and SoftBank Group.