Nokia lost another high-profile executive, with long-serving CTO and head of Bell Labs Marcus Weldon (pictured) set to depart at the end of Q1 2021.

In a statement, a Nokia representative explained Weldon will work to establish the company’s new strategy and technology organisation before his exit.

A month ago new CEO Pekka Lundmark announced a sweeping restructure of its business units after warning it faced a challenging 2021, highlighting a need to inject additional funds into 5G R&D.

Details of Weldon’s departure come a few weeks after Nokia revealed CMO Barry French planned to leave at the end of the year.

Weldon joined AT&T Bell Labs in 1995 and later moved to Lucent Technologies. He was named corporate CTO for Alcatel-Lucent in 2009 and remained in the post when the company was acquired by Nokia in 2016.

He tweeted: “After 25 years, 11 as CTO and almost eight as president of Bell Labs, I have decided it is time to seek pastures new and hand the reins over with a peaceful transfer of power.”