Microsoft announced a management shakeup today, including the departure of Stephen Elop, the former Nokia chief who came on board with the US giant’s acquisition of the Finnish firm’s handset unit.
Elop, 51, came to Microsoft as part of the deal unveiled in 2013 to buy the mobile phone unit of the Finland-based tech group.
It was the second stint at Microsoft for the Canadian national, hired as chief executive by Nokia in 2010 in a bid to revitalise the group’s smartphone efforts.
At one point, Elop had been rumoured as a potential candidate for CEO at Microsoft.
In the shakeup announced by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Elop will be replaced as head of the firm’s “Windows and Devices Group” by Terry Myerson.
Myerson will lead a newly formed team “focused on enabling more personal computing experiences powered by the Windows ecosystem.”
“We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions,” said Nadella.
“This change will enable us to deliver better products and services that our customers love at a more rapid pace.”
Microsoft has failed to get much traction for its Windows Phone platform even with the acquisition of Nokia. A survey by IDC said Windows was expected to capture just 3.2 per cent of the global smartphone market this year.
Also leaving in the reorganisation are two executive vice presidents, Kirill Tatarinov and Eric Rudder, who with Elop will depart “after a designated transition period,” the statement said.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.