Set up to challenge Google & Co in offering highly accurate live map data, it had become apparent over the years that the joint venture of several car manufacturers and suppliers lacked the necessary momentum to keep up with the digital giants from the US. Now CEO Edzard Overbeek has announced his retirement. The supervisory board of the Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company announced that it has appointed an interim dual leadership to succeed Overbeek. Effective 1 May, Denise Doyle, currently chief data officer at Here, and Adeel Manzoor, currently chief financial officer at Here Technologies, will lead the company until a new permanent CEO is appointed.
The company was spun off from Nokia in 2015 and acquired by Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz Group. Meanwhile, automotive suppliers Bosch and Continental, as well as chipmaker Intel, have also acquired stakes in the company.
Here offers navigation software and highly accurate real-time data for use in vehicles. Such map material is considered essential, especially for self-driving functions. According to the company, around 170 million vehicles with maps from Here on board have been sold to date. Among them are more than 34 million vehicles in Europe and North America that use the company’s data and services for driver assistance systems and automated driving functions. But apparently even these seemingly gigantic figures have not been enough to achieve a breakthrough to a top position in the market for navigation software and map material against providers such as Apple, Google or TomTom. Market observers criticise that the owners have not been able to develop a clear strategy for the company’s products in the age of digitalisation.