Ericsson has appointed David Hammarwall as Head of Business Area Networks and Senior Vice President, effective October 1, 2026, in a major executive reshuffle that follows the company's announcement that current Networks chief Per Narvinger will become President and CEO. Hammarwall, who currently heads Ericsson's T-Mobile customer unit in the Americas, will become a member of the executive team reporting directly to Narvinger. The move represents an internal promotion for Hammarwall, who will relocate from Bellevue, Washington to Stockholm to lead the company's largest business unit at a critical juncture for the telecoms industry.
The appointment comes as part of planned succession planning at Ericsson, with the CEO transition announced on June 16 and the Hammarwall appointment disclosed two days later. Narvinger has been head of Business Area Networks since March 2025 and will vacate the role upon his promotion to CEO, replacing Börje Ekholm who steps down September 30 after nearly a decade in the position. No external search firm involvement was disclosed in either announcement. The appointments underscore continuity and internal development of leadership during a period when Ericsson is positioning itself in artificial intelligence-driven network transformation and the transition toward 6G technology.
Hammarwall joined Ericsson in 2007 and holds a PhD in telecommunications from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Throughout his tenure, he has held senior technical and product roles including Head of Product Area Networks, Head of Product Line Radio, and Head of Product Line 5G RAN before transitioning to the customer-facing T-Mobile role in 2023. His background reflects deep expertise in radio access network technology and standardization, areas that have been central to Ericsson's competitive positioning in 5G infrastructure. In his T-Mobile assignment, Hammarwall oversaw customer account management and strategic partnership development with one of the United States' largest wireless operators, gaining commercial experience alongside his technical acumen.
Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications equipment provider listed on NASDAQ as ERIC, supplies mobile communication and connectivity solutions to service providers and enterprises globally. The company supports networks connecting more than 2.5 billion subscribers worldwide, with approximately 40 percent of global mobile traffic carried over Ericsson systems. Business Area Networks is the company's core unit, encompassing radio access network products, software, and related infrastructure solutions. The company has been undergoing strategic repositioning under Ekholm's leadership, shifting focus toward artificial intelligence integration in networks, private network solutions, and enterprise connectivity as traditional telecom capex cycles mature.
The succession of Hammarwall to Networks represents Ericsson's preference for promoting experienced internal talent to its highest-profile operational role. Hammarwall's appointment suggests confidence that his combination of product development expertise and direct customer engagement with T-Mobile positions him to lead the unit through a period focused on AI-enabled radio access networks and 6G preparedness. By retaining him within the business rather than recruiting externally, the company avoids disruption to customer relationships and preserves institutional knowledge of ongoing 5G Advanced deployments. Whether this internal succession proves sufficient to maintain momentum in a highly competitive market against rivals including Nokia and Samsung will likely depend on execution against aggressive technology roadmaps, particularly as operators shift from initial 5G deployments toward monetizing network intelligence capabilities through artificial intelligence and autonomous operations.
