e consumer electronics, rubber and cable businesses were all sold off by 1996. The company did hang on to a 20 percent stake in its tire business for a few years, though. The final 102 VAULT LIBRARY CAREER 2005 Vault Inc. Vault Guide to the Top Telecom Employers Nokia Corporation departure from car tire and computer monitor manufacturing, however, did not take place until the 2000s. A new beginning In 1994, CEO Jorma Ollila laid out the key elements of Nokia's new strategy: dump stagnant businesses and focus on telecommunications It seems to have worked, since today, the company has more than 51,000 employees worldwide. The company racked up sales of over $37 billion in 2003, up from $31.5 billion in 2002, and the company currently holds about 40 percent of the global mobile phone market. In April 2003, the company announced a cost-cutting plan that will improve profitability, and further strengthen its leadership position in the mobile infrastructure business. The planned measures include focusing on research and development programs, a reduction of approximately 1,800 employees, and fine tuning of the Nokia Networks organization to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Up to 1,100 of the 1,800 planned personnel reductions affected its Finnish operations, while the remainder was divided among other countries. The reductions were made in R&D, operations, sales and marketing and in support functions. These changes have gone all the way to the top. In late September 2003, two non- Finnish nationals were appointed to senior managerial posts for the first time in the company's history. American Rick Simonson was appointed senior vice president and CFO, while Norwegian Hallstein Moerk became senior vice president, human resources. Up until now, the company's management has been solidly Finnish even though, since 1998, English has been the language spoken in managerial meetings. The company also announced that its former CFO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, will run the mobile phones unit, which, in the past, has accounted for t