A new chief executive has been named for Nokia Corp., the world’s biggest cell phone maker. His name is Stephen Elop, and his task is to propel Nokia into a major player in the lucrative smartphone space.
Elop, the former head of Microsoft Corp.’s software business unit, will be focusing on gaining a competitive edge over leading smartphone makers Apple Inc. and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. Apple alone had overtaken at least $61 billion of market value from Nokia, analysts estimate.
“In late May of this year, we started a CEO search process... We wanted to ask ourselves, and we did, who would be the best person to lead Nokia,” said Board Chairman Jorma Ollila in a statement.
Nokia said that current CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo would also resign his position on the Nokia Board of Directors, however, he would continue to chair the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks in a non-executive role.
Elop, a Canadian, will be the first non-Finn to head the company and will replace the long term Nokia boss Kallasvuo who had been with the company for 30 years. There has been great speculation about who be the new president given that profits had plummeted 41 percent in the latest quarter.
Although Nokia reigned the top of the mobile phone market at one stage, its status has deteriorated due to the revolution of the smartphone market which was not only dominated by Apple and BlackBerry, but also Google’s Android operating system.
“It is the case in the technology world that there are critical moments where fundamental change takes place... Today, right now today, we are going through a similar moment,” said Elop in a statement.
“For Nokia, this moment of change represents huge opportunities,” he added.
The Finnish telecommunications equipment giant appointed the relatively low profile Elop and did not recruit from its internal team. Another senior executive will leave Nokia after the announcement of the new CEO’s position. Anssi Vanjoki, the current head of mobile solutions business, announced his departure from the company. He was a potential replacement for the outgoing CEO’s position, but failed to be selected by the board. He has also received backlash given Nokia’s shrinking market share in the mobile phone market.
Going forward, Nokia will gear its focus towards North America as this region reflected the worst performance in sales in recent years.
Elop has alluded to the synergy between Microsoft and Nokia , but all eyes are on how Nokia will develop its own technology, including a new version of its mobile operating system Symbian.
Elop, the former head of Microsoft Corp.’s software business unit, will be focusing on gaining a competitive edge over leading smartphone makers Apple Inc. and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. Apple alone had overtaken at least $61 billion of market value from Nokia, analysts estimate.
“In late May of this year, we started a CEO search process... We wanted to ask ourselves, and we did, who would be the best person to lead Nokia,” said Board Chairman Jorma Ollila in a statement.
Nokia said that current CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo would also resign his position on the Nokia Board of Directors, however, he would continue to chair the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks in a non-executive role.
Elop, a Canadian, will be the first non-Finn to head the company and will replace the long term Nokia boss Kallasvuo who had been with the company for 30 years. There has been great speculation about who be the new president given that profits had plummeted 41 percent in the latest quarter.
Although Nokia reigned the top of the mobile phone market at one stage, its status has deteriorated due to the revolution of the smartphone market which was not only dominated by Apple and BlackBerry, but also Google’s Android operating system.
“It is the case in the technology world that there are critical moments where fundamental change takes place... Today, right now today, we are going through a similar moment,” said Elop in a statement.
“For Nokia, this moment of change represents huge opportunities,” he added.
The Finnish telecommunications equipment giant appointed the relatively low profile Elop and did not recruit from its internal team. Another senior executive will leave Nokia after the announcement of the new CEO’s position. Anssi Vanjoki, the current head of mobile solutions business, announced his departure from the company. He was a potential replacement for the outgoing CEO’s position, but failed to be selected by the board. He has also received backlash given Nokia’s shrinking market share in the mobile phone market.
Going forward, Nokia will gear its focus towards North America as this region reflected the worst performance in sales in recent years.
Elop has alluded to the synergy between Microsoft and Nokia , but all eyes are on how Nokia will develop its own technology, including a new version of its mobile operating system Symbian.
