MUMBAI: After a stint of eight years, D Shivakumar, Nokia’s senior vice-president for emerging markets including India, has quit the Finnish handset maker.

Nokia EVP sales And marketing Chris Weber said, “Since starting in 2006 Shiv has been fully dedicated to the company, playing an integral role in Nokia’s growth in India and beyond. But it’s not just what Shiv has done for Nokia externally – his personal convictions on the importance of leadership have resonated throughout the company, and he has sponsored many leadership programs throughout the region. On behalf of Nokia, I thank Shiv for his contributions, and wish him all the best in the future. He will stay with us in a consultancy role until end-June.”

Shivakumar had joined Nokia in 2006 as managing director and vice-president for sales in India. In October 2011, he was elevated to the position of head of emerging markets comprising around 90 countries across the West Asia, the African region and India.

As per reports, the development comes against the backdrop of mobile maker receiving a demand notice of over Rs 2,000 crore from tax authorities for alleged evasion of taxes in its business transactions in the country.

Shivakumar took over as head of Nokia in India amid rising competition from other low-cost phone makers, especially Chinese. Besides, the company faced intense competition in the smartphone segment from companies such as Samsung, Apple and BlackBerry.

Prior to joining Nokia, Shivakumar has worked with Philips India and Hindustan Unilever. He is an IIT – Madras graduate and an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management – Calcutta.