Niklas Savander
Encyclopedia
Niklas Savander is a Finnish businessman and the Executive Vice President of the Markets unit of Nokia Corporation
. He is a member of the Nokia Group Executive Board, a position held since 2006. Savander joined Nokia in 1997.
Savander is the deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamfelt Oyj and a Member of the Board and secretary of Waldemar von Frenckells Stiftelse.
On Aug 22, 2011 Savander, who has been a Member of the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks
since April 1, 2007, became embroiled in a scandal related to the use and abuse of surveillance systems delivered to the Bahrain government by one of NSN's former business units, Nokia Siemens Intelligence Solutions (NSIS). The spy gear in Bahrain was sold by Siemens AG (SIE), and maintained by Nokia Siemens Networks and NSN’s divested unit, Trovicor GmbH, with sale and maintenance contracts confirmed by Ben Roome, a Nokia Siemens staff member based in Farnborough, England. The system was reportedly used as the investigative tool of choice to gather information about political dissidents -- and silence them, as was the case in Bahrain were at least 30 people were killed during the 2011 uprising. By the end of 2007, the Nokia Siemens Intelligence Solutions unit had more than 90 of these so-called lawful interception surveillance systems installed in 60 countries. Besides Bahrain, several other Middle Eastern nations that cracked down on uprisings during the Arab Spring
of 2011 -- including Egypt, Syria and Yemen -- also purchased monitoring centers from Nokia Siemens Networks' chain of businesses now known as Trovicor. Trovicor equipment plays a surveillance role in at least 12 Middle Eastern and North African nations. NSN and Trovicor’s status as exclusive provider in Bahrain continued at least through 2009. That period coincides with the dates of text messages used to interrogate scores of political detainees. In some cases authorities even used messages that dated as far back as the mid-2000s, even in recent interrogations. Earlier in 2011 it had already been uncovered that in some countries (such as the P.R.C.) some of the newest Nokia smartphones for which Niklas Savander had been overseeing the business development and market introduction, such as the Nokia N8-00, also contained a number of hidden, highly-sophisticated spying and surveillance features that had been secretly inserted into the devices' operating systems at the behest of the local security services, prompting Savander to issue a public apology after it turned out that some of these devices were actually no longer working properly..
Savander is married and has two children. He enjoys playing and refereeing ice hockey
, telemark skiing
and golf
.
in Science
from the Helsinki University of Technology
and a Master of Business Administration
from the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration in Helsinki. He is fluent in Swedish
, English
, German
and Finnish
.
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
. He is a member of the Nokia Group Executive Board, a position held since 2006. Savander joined Nokia in 1997.
Savander is the deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamfelt Oyj and a Member of the Board and secretary of Waldemar von Frenckells Stiftelse.
On Aug 22, 2011 Savander, who has been a Member of the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks is a global data networking and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Espoo, Finland. It is a joint venture between Nokia of Finland and Siemens of Germany...
since April 1, 2007, became embroiled in a scandal related to the use and abuse of surveillance systems delivered to the Bahrain government by one of NSN's former business units, Nokia Siemens Intelligence Solutions (NSIS). The spy gear in Bahrain was sold by Siemens AG (SIE), and maintained by Nokia Siemens Networks and NSN’s divested unit, Trovicor GmbH, with sale and maintenance contracts confirmed by Ben Roome, a Nokia Siemens staff member based in Farnborough, England. The system was reportedly used as the investigative tool of choice to gather information about political dissidents -- and silence them, as was the case in Bahrain were at least 30 people were killed during the 2011 uprising. By the end of 2007, the Nokia Siemens Intelligence Solutions unit had more than 90 of these so-called lawful interception surveillance systems installed in 60 countries. Besides Bahrain, several other Middle Eastern nations that cracked down on uprisings during the Arab Spring
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
of 2011 -- including Egypt, Syria and Yemen -- also purchased monitoring centers from Nokia Siemens Networks' chain of businesses now known as Trovicor. Trovicor equipment plays a surveillance role in at least 12 Middle Eastern and North African nations. NSN and Trovicor’s status as exclusive provider in Bahrain continued at least through 2009. That period coincides with the dates of text messages used to interrogate scores of political detainees. In some cases authorities even used messages that dated as far back as the mid-2000s, even in recent interrogations. Earlier in 2011 it had already been uncovered that in some countries (such as the P.R.C.) some of the newest Nokia smartphones for which Niklas Savander had been overseeing the business development and market introduction, such as the Nokia N8-00, also contained a number of hidden, highly-sophisticated spying and surveillance features that had been secretly inserted into the devices' operating systems at the behest of the local security services, prompting Savander to issue a public apology after it turned out that some of these devices were actually no longer working properly..
Savander is married and has two children. He enjoys playing and refereeing ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, telemark skiing
Telemark skiing
Telemark skiing is a form of skiing using the Telemark turn. Unlike alpine skiing equipment, the skis used for telemarking either have a binding that only connects the boot to the ski at the toes, just as in cross-country skiing, or may be released to only connect there.Telemark turns are led with...
and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
.
Education
Savander holds a Master's degreeMaster's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
from the Helsinki University of Technology
Helsinki University of Technology
Aalto University School of Science and Technology , was the temporary name for Helsinki University of Technology during the process of forming the Aalto University...
and a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
from the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration in Helsinki. He is fluent in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
.