Nokia’s former chief executive, Stephen Elop, who was placed in charge of Microsoft’s mobile devices after Nokia’s handset business was bought by the company founded by Bill Gates, has been replaced in a shake up of staff.
Elop, 51, will be replaced by Terry Myerson who becomes head of Microsoft’s newly conjoined Windows and Devices group, responsible for the Lumia brand smartphones and other devices including the Xbox and Surface, and Windows.
“We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a statement. “This change will enable us to deliver better products and services that our customers love at a more rapid pace.”
A Canadian, Elop became Nokia’s first non-Finnish chief executive in 2010 when he went to the company from Microsoft. He was instrumental in Nokia’s adoption of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system in 2011, replacing its own Symbian operating system on its high-end smartphones.
He was also key to Microsoft’s buyout of Nokia’s devices division in 2013, including its Lumia smartphones, which became Microsoft’s devices group. He was controversially awarded an €18.8m bonus after the sale.
Elop refuted allegations that he was a Microsoft plant at Nokia whose aim was to bring the company into a purchasable position for Microsoft. He was once thought to be Steve Ballmer’s likely successor at Microsoft, a role that went to Nadella.
“Stephen and I have agreed that now is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft,” said Nadella in an email to staff. “I regret the loss of leadership that this represents, and look forward to seeing where his next destination will be.”
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