On Friday morning, Nokia announced that Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the company’s chief executive, will be stepping down on September 20th.
According to the company, the new chief will be a transplant from Microsoft named Stephen Elop.
“Nokia’s Board of Directors has appointed Stephen Elop President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia as of September 21. Elop currently heads Microsoft’s Business Division,” Nokia stated in a press release Friday.
The announcement comes as little surprise to anyone in the mobile world as Nokia has struggled to keep pace across the increasingly competitive mobile landscape. Just this past spring, Kallasuvuo publicly admitted that his company has utterly failed to combat the likes of the iPhone and altogether fell short of its potential in the U.S. smartphone marketplace.
“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,” said Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors. “The Nokia board believes that Stephen has the right industry experience and leadership skills to realize the full potential of Nokia. His strong software background and proven record in change management will be valuable assets as we press harder to complete the transformation of the company.”
Though Kallasvuo will officially resign as president and CEO on Sept. 20, he will continue to chair the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks in a non-executive capacity.
