Nokia has finally fired CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, tapping a senior Microsoft executive, Stephen Elop, to take the helm from September 21.
Elop, currently the head of Microsoft’s business division, has the job of coming up with an answer to the iPhone, Android and the App Store in a market now driven by software and services.
Since the first iPhone was released three years ago, Nokia’s share price has fallen by two-thirds, wiping $64 billion off its market capitalization.
Canadian-born Elop, is the first non-Finn to head up Nokia, also brings crucial experience of the US market – a territory Nokia has traditionally struggled to crack.
He was previously CEO of Macromedia and has held senior posts at Juniper Networks and Adobe.
"The time is right to accelerate the company's renewal; to bring in new executive leadership with different skills and strengths in order to drive company success,” Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila said.
Ollila said Elop’s “strong software background and proven record in change management will be valuable assets as we press harder to complete the transformation of the company.”