STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Leif Johansson, chairman of Sweden's Ericsson, plans to quit before the company's annual meeting in 2018 as the struggling mobile equipment firm tries to restore profitability. Cheaper Chinese rivals have ousted Ericsson as the biggest player in the mobile equipment market while its attempt to boost revenues by broadening its client base to include utilities, transport firms and media companies has been an expensive failure. Ericsson has drafted in a new CEO, but corporate activist investor Cevian Capital, led by Christer Gardell, recently bought a more than 5 percent stake and has been pushing for further change. "It is not unreasonable to believe he (Gardell) has pushed Johansson out," said a fund manager with an investment in Ericsson but who declined to be named. "The company needs change and Johansson is not the man for change."