Highest industry merit awarded to Carl-Henric Svanberg Tweet

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Former Ericsson President and CEO recognized for outstanding achievement
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Contributed to industry change and four billion mobile connections
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Engaged in sustainability

At the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Carl-Henric Svanberg, former President and CEO of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), was given the GSMA's highest annual honor, the Chairman's Award for 2010, which recognizes outstanding contribution to the growth and development of mobile communications around the world.

In his presentation to Svanberg, Alexander Izosimov, Chairman of GSMA, said: "In his seven years in the telecommunications industry - a relatively short time in this fast moving business - Carl-Henric Svanberg made some profound changes to almost reinvent one of the world's oldest telecoms manufacturing companies, changes that have resonated across the industry.

"When the world was fixated by 3G and 4G evolution he saw GSM as the technology that could bring connectivity to the unconnected. GSM turned out to be key in achieving 4 billion connections and through projects like the Millennium Villages in Africa, which is bringing social and economic development to some of the poorest communities on the continent. His transformative approach put sustainability on the agenda of the telecommunications industry and built up the role of telecommunications in combating climate change," Izosimov said.

Svanberg accepted the award on behalf of the company and its employees, and said: "Together we have leveraged on the broadly deployed GSM technology to provide mobile connectivity and its benefits to a large portion of the world, even the poorest of the poor. We have made major strides to reduce our own environmental impacts, but perhaps more importantly have begun to explore how broadband can transform adjacent industries to create a low-carbon information-based economy, while serving the world with new communications services."

Ericsson pioneered GSM in the 1980s and has continued to invest in radio technologies to make advanced and affordable communications services available for everyone. Today there are some 4.6 billion mobile subscriptions in the world, of which the majority are GSM. There is also significant growth in mobile broadband which is expected to reach 3.4 billion subscriptions in 2015. Ericsson's HSPA offering attains speeds of up to 84 Mbps, while the next generation of mobile broadband, LTE, has begun its rollout around the world.

During the years with Carl-Henric Svanberg in the driving seat, Ericsson made a number of strategic acquisitions in the area of fixed and optical fiber as well as IP and TV. This makes Ericsson the only player in the industry with a complete portfolio for mobile and fixed converging IP based networks. Products are today software based and Ericsson has become the world's fifth largest software company. At the same time, services have grown quickly, and now represent 40% of total sales.

During 2003-2008 Ericsson's compounded annual growth was 12%. Over these years, the company generated a total profit of SEK 103 b. and a cash flow of SEK 101 b. Total dividends over the past five years amount to SEK 27 b.

Svanberg joined Ericsson on April 8, 2003 at a troublesome time when the company struggled with losses and restructuring. One of his first actions was to introduce his leadership philosophies and focus on operational excellence. Culture and ways of working changed in the company and is a major reason for today's good profitability.

Carl-Henric Svanberg was Ericsson's President and CEO from April 8, 2003 until December 31, 2009.

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