Nokia's Chairman and CEO Jorma Ollila, who announced his impending withdrawal from the posts on Monday, has been chosen as the non-executive chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, effective from June 1st, 2006. He will replacing outgoing chairman Aad Jacobs .
The date coincides with the point when Ollila has said he will pass on the operative management of Nokia to other hands, and he has reported he will continue as non-executive chairman of the Finnish mobile phone giant from June next year.
Royal Dutch Shell is Europe's second-largest oil company, and the world's fourth-largest corporation by revenue, with 2004 turnover of USD 268 billion.
Ollila becomes only the first Finnish executive to take such a position at a major foreign multinational. He is already a member of the board of the Ford Motor Company. He joined Nokia in 1985 and held a range of management positions before taking over the helm in 1992.
Monday saw the announcement from Nokia's Espoo headquarters that Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo will succeed Ollila at the head of the company, initially as President and COO from October this year and becoming CEO next June.
