As Group CTO and head of Technology and Strategy, Erik Ekudden is responsible for setting the overall strategy and direction of technology leadership for Ericsson. In 2017 he re-located to Kista, Sweden, after nearly seven-years in Santa Clara, California. His focus for the group is on strategic decisions and investments in mobility, cloud, artificial intelligence and Internet of things. This builds on his decades-long career in technology strategies and industry activities with leading customers and partners from 2G to 5G and beyond. Ekudden first joined Ericsson in 1993 working on mobile systems, but rapidly moved into leadership within research and technology. He has served as research area director and vice president of technology strategy, standardization and industry. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).