Ericsson will merge its North East Asia and South East Asia, Oceania and India operations into a single Asia-Pacific unit from 2027, as part of a broader effort to streamline its structure and improve efficiency.
Patrick Johansson, currently head of Market Area Europe, Middle East and Africa, will lead the new Market Area Asia-Pacific, and remain on Ericsson’s Executive Team. The company said it will begin recruiting a successor to Johansson in EMEA.
Chafic Nassif, who leads North East Asia, and Andres Vicente, head of South East Asia, Oceania and India, will support the transition before handing over their responsibilities on 31 December 2026.
New Ericsson CEO Per Narvinger said the consolidation is intended to help it operate more effectively across Asia-Pacific while maintaining a focus on customers and individual countries. It forms part of a broader simplification of the company’s operating structure, which Ericsson says is designed to strengthen customer focus, make greater use of its research and development capabilities, improve accountability and drive efficiencies.
The announcement came alongside Ericsson’s third-quarter results. The figures offer context for the company’s focus on efficiency, although Ericsson did not say that the APAC changes were a direct response to financial performance or to results in the region.
For the quarter, reported sales rose 6% year over year to SEK 59.5 billion (US$6 billion), while organic sales increased 7%, primarily on higher Networks sales. Organic sales grew in three of Ericsson’s four market areas. Adjusted EBITA was SEK 10.1 billion, down from SEK 15.8 billion a year earlier, but the comparison included a SEK 7.6 billion capital gain in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITA margin was 17.0%, compared with 28.1% a year ago.
Narvinger described the quarter as strong, while pointing to a flat radio access network market, elevated geopolitical uncertainty and higher component costs as challenges ahead. The company said it is pursuing portfolio optimisation, pricing and efficiency measures to offset cost pressures and strengthen competitiveness.
The APAC consolidation is one element of a wider organisational reshuffle. Ericsson is also moving the portfolio of its Business Area Enterprise Wireless Solutions into other parts of the company, saying this will help create research and development synergies and provide scale for product innovation. Neutral Host and Ericsson Private 5G will move into Business Area Networks, while Wireless WAN will remain a standalone business reporting to the head of Market Area Americas.
Taken together, the announcements indicate a push to streamline management and bring related activities closer together as Ericsson seeks to improve execution and respond to market pressures. The company’s stated rationale for the new APAC unit, however, centres on operating more effectively across the region and serving customers – not on a specific regional financial shortfall.