Date: October 2, 1970
About: Judson Green - Class of 1970

Quincy Native Sells Firm to Nokia for $8.1 Billion

Source: Quincy Herald-Whig
Author: Steve Eighinger

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Quincy native Judson Green, CEO of Navteq Corp., poses in the company offices in Chicago. Nokia Corp. is buying U.S. navigation-software maker Navteq Corp. for around $8.1 billion as the world's largest mobile phone maker continues to expand services and content. Under the agreement approved by the boards of both companies, Nokia will pay $78 in cash for each Navteq share, including outstanding options. (AP Photo)

By Steve Eighinger
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Nokia Corp. is buying U.S. navigation software maker Navteq Corp. for $8.1 billion, with Quincy native Judson Green playing a role in the venture.
Green, 53, is the president and CEO of Navteq, which was bankrupt when he took over seven years ago. Green, a 1970 graduate of Quincy High School, had previously been one of the chief economic strategists with the Walt Disney Co.
Nokia, the world's biggest mobile-phone company, will gain digital maps of 69 countries and compete with TomTom NV in the market for navigation devices.
Chicago-based Navteq maintains digital maps that it licenses to global positioning systems and Web sites. Founded in 1985, it has about 3,000 employees in 168 offices and 30 countries.
"I'm excited about this from the standpoint of our shareholders, and I'm also excited about partnering with Nokia," Green said. "I am overwhelmed with Nokia's global outreach. They have close to a billion handsets in use around the world."
Green said BusinessWeek magazine recently recognized Nokia as the No. 5 business brand in the world. The four businesses ranked ahead of Nokia are Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM and General Electric.
Navteq has reported a profit every quarter since going public three years ago. In 2006, Navteq had net income of $110 million on sales of $582 million. Green was recruited to turn Navteq around while he was working for Walt Disney.
"I liked the idea of that kind of challenge," Green said.
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Finland-based Nokia's president and CEO, said location-based services are one of the cornerstones of the company's Internet services strategy.
"The acquisition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space," Kallasvuo said.
Green will report to Kallasvuo but remain stationed in Chicago.
Navteq's map-data business will operate as an independent unit, both companies said.
Green received a degree in economics from DePauw University in 1974. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1976.
Green has held a variety of executive financial positions, including chief financial officer for Walt Disney and president of the company's theme park and resort division. Green was in charge of about 80,000 of Disney's 110,000 employees.
Green said he returns to Quincy to visit family "about every three months."
The Associated Press and Bloomberg.com contributed to this story.
Contact Staff Writer Steve Eighinger at seighinger@whig.com or (217) 221-3377