Nokia CTO takes leave of absence

Nokia has confirmed that its CTO Rich Green will be taking a leave of absence due to a "personal matter".

Henry Tirri, head of Nokia's research centre, will replace Green for the foreseeable future, and the mobile company has not provided a timetable for his return.

"This has no impact on our product strategy or our expected product launch timelines," Nokia said in a statement.

This news comes shortly after Nokia released a warning to investors stating that "multiple factors are negatively impacting Nokia's Devices and Services business and to a greater extent than previously expected".

It also said that its net sales would be "substantially below" the previously expected range of between €6.1bn (£5.3bn) and €6.6bn (£5.7bn) for the second quarter of 2011.

Nokia's performance has come under intense scrutiny since its chief executive Stephen Elop compared the company's position to that of a man "standing on a burning platform" in a leaked memo in February.

This was followed by a controversial deal with Microsoft that will see Nokia develop Windows smartphones as its primary platform.