HMD Global CEO Florian Seiche (pictured) announced plans to leave the company after six years at the helm, during which he asserted it had become a leader in the global device market.

In a LinkedIn post, Seiche thanked HMD Global’s leadership and staff, along with customers and fans. His tenure included the re-introduction of several classic Nokia devices, which he noted complemented its work on Android smartphones and tablets.

Seiche cited achievements including taking leading positions in the smartphone markets of South Africa, the UK and USA “as well as the Enterprise and Services segments” as key milestones of his time leading the company,

The executive has a long history in the device world, having headed Orange’s global device unit when it developed the SPV device in the early 2000s, along with spells with Siemens, Nokia, Microsoft and HTC (which manufactured the SPV).

He noted HMD Global had recently introduced an eco-friendly initiative encouraging users to keep their phones for longer, a programme Seiche stated showed the company is “innovating with purpose across the entire smartphone line-up”.