Apple appoints Nokia’s Ashish Chowdhary as new India head

Nokia's Chief Customer Operations Officer (CCOO) Ashish Chowdhary has joined Apple as the new Country Manager for India. He will take over operations in January, 2019.

Chowdhary had joined Nokia in December 2003 and had also been part of the company's executive board of Nokia Networks and NSN since 2009. He has also served as Head of Global Services at Nokia Siemens Networks and Vice President for Enterprise Business at Hughes Communications Ltd.

Chowdhary will succeed Michel Coulomb, who took over as head of Indian operations in December 2017 from Sanjay Kaul.

Apple's new India head faces a daunting task of reviving the company's growth in the country. Apple has lost significant market share over the last few months to newer players like OnePlus. The company's market share has been reduced to just 1% in India.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has also acknowledged the company's poor performance in India. Following the publication of Q4 earnings report, Cook confirmed a "flat" business in India. He also pointed out that the weak rupee valuation had forced Apple to increase prices of its devices in India.

Cook, however, was bullish on India's growing smartphone market, describing the company's fall as "speed bumps" in a long journey. "I am a big believer in India. I am very bullish on the country and the people and our ability to do well there," Cook had said.