Nokia has lost its smartphone chief, Anssi Vanjoki, in the wake of its appointment of its first non-Finn to the CEO post.
The embattled handset firm announced Friday it had tapped Stephen Elop, the head of Microsoft’s business division, to replace Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.
Vanjoki, executive vice president of the mobile solutions division, said it was time for a change but would remain with the company for another six months.
Vanjoki, who has been with the company for 19 years, was a candidate to replace Kallasvuo as CEO, FT.com reported.
“I felt the time has come to seek new opportunities in my life,” Vanjoki said in a statement.
He said he would share “news about exciting new devices and solutions,” at the Nokia World event in London this week, where he is due to present a keynote.
Vanjoki took over as mobile solutions chief just two months ago, posting a blog vowing to take the company back to no. 1.
“I am committed, perhaps even obsessed, with getting Nokia back to being number one in high-end devices,” he said.
It is the failure of Vanjoki and his predecessors to come up with a smartphone and operating system to halt the march of the North American rivals that led to Kallasvuo’s sacking last week.
Nokia still has 40% of the smartphone market, according to the latest Gartner figures, but its share is down six percentage points over the last year.
Its margins and ASPs are well below those of Apple and RIM, however. It has lost $64 billion (€49.9 billion) in market capitalization since the first iPhone was released in 2007.
Informa Telecoms & Media analyst Gavin Byrne said the firm might yet reconsider its decision not to use Android, the fastest-growing mobile OS.
“Although the company remains profitable, if it continues to underperform in the important smartphone segment, pressure may grow for Nokia, and Mr Elop, to reconsider its stance regarding Android,” Byrne said.
“In the longer term, the company must seriously evaluate its strategy to delivery an end-to-end user experience,” Byrne said.