Sony Ericsson has appointed Bert Nordberg as the new chief executive in an effort to turn around the struggling cellphone maker's fortunes. Nordberg plans to focus on increasing market share and restoring profitability by developing successful products and continuing with restructuring efforts. Nordberg, 53, who is currently the Executive Vice President at Ericsson and leads the company's Silicon Valley division, expressed confidence in the support from both parent companies and suggested that achieving profitability is not far off. The company announced that Sony CEO Howard Stringer will take over as board chairman on October 15, replacing Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg, who will assume the role of chairman at BP Plc in January. Analyst Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics believes that these management changes indicate Sony and Ericsson's commitment to working together, which will likely reassure Sony Ericsson's employees and customers. Sony Ericsson experienced the biggest decline in sales among the top five cellphone vendors in the first quarter. Research firm Gartner reported last week that Sony Ericsson's market share globally has dropped to 4.7 percent due to missing out on mobile phone trends such as full keyboards, Internet browsing, and navigation. Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight, stated that the new CEO, Nordberg, has important decisions to make right away. Sony Ericsson needs to streamline its mobile software strategy, reduce its reliance on mid-tier feature phones, and aim to restore profitability in the challenging economic climate of the mobile phone industry. While Sony Ericsson is known for its music and imaging phones, it lacks a strong presence in the smartphone market. Nordberg plans to revamp the firm's product portfolio strategically. "In this field, successful products are essential," he stated. Nordberg has been employed at Ericsson since 1996, after working at companies such as Data General Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp. In July, Sony Ericsson reported a pre-tax loss of 283 million euros ($400 million) and predicted a challenging remainder of the year, with the market expected to contract by at least 10 percent. "I believe this is a result of the need for a fresh start, some new perspectives. Sony Ericsson has also not performed well in the past year and a half," noted Greger Johansson from Redeye. At 1214 GMT (8:14 a.m. EDT), Ericsson's shares were trading at 66.90 crowns, which was 0.5 percent lower than before. This performance was better than the DJ Stoxx European technology index, which was down 1.7 percent.