Nokia tapped software SVP Raghav Sahgal to lead its growing enterprise arm, replacing long-time executive Kathrin Buvac who will depart to lead an unnamed global technology company at the end of the month.

In its Q1 earnings report, Nokia stated its Enterprise division recorded “strong growth”, with net sales of €311 million up 20 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 6 per cent of the vendor’s €4.9 billion total revenue.

Sahgal will become president of Nokia Enterprise and also take on Buvac’s position as a member of the vendor’s leadership team on 1 June.

In a statement, CEO Rajeev Suri highlighted Buvac’s near 20-year telecoms career, noting she had been “at the heart” of many “transformational changes” including a “turnaround of Nokia Siemens Networks and the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent”.

As president of Nokia Enterprise, Buvac delivered “profitable, double-digit growth”, said Suri.

Sahgal joined Nokia in 2017 from analytics software provider Nice Systems, where he served as president of the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. Prior to this, he held executive and senior leadership positions with Oracle; Comverse; CSG; Kenan Systems; and Lucent Technologies.

Suri said the company has an “excellent leader” in Sahgal, who had “demonstrated record of success in his current role in Nokia Software”.

The shuffle comes at a key juncture for the Nokia, which recently played down missing out on lucrative 5G network tenders with Chinese operators.