Nokia appoints Microsoft executive as new CEO

Faltering Finnish giant places faith in Stephen Elop to turn fortunes around

Stephen Elop has had spells at Adobe and Juniper Networks

Nokia has announced that the head of Microsoft's business division, Stephen Elop, is to become its new chief executive from 21 September.

Elop will replace current chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo as part of an ongoing attempt by the Finnish mobile phone giant to reposition itself as a key player and reclaim market share in the burgeoning smartphone market.

Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila said that Elop's employment history with the likes of Juniper Networks and Adobe, and his current position at Microsoft, will help the company move forward.

"[Elop's] strong software background and proven record in change management will be valuable assets as we press harder to complete the transformation of the company," he said.

"We believe that Elop will be able to drive innovation and efficient execution of the company strategy in order to deliver increased value to our shareholders."

Commentating on his appointment, Elop said he was "extremely excited" to be joining Nokia to work on strengthening its position as the "undisputed leader of the mobile communications industry".

"Nokia has a unique global position as well as a great brand on which we can build. The company has deeply talented and dedicated people, and I am confident that together we can continue to deliver innovative products," he said.

However, Gartner analyst Nick Jones said in a blog posting that he is "in two minds" about the decision to appoint Elop, questioning whether hiring an executive from Microsoft is the best way for Nokia to reverse its market decline.

"Microsoft has many of the same problems as Nokia in terms of innovation, es pecially in the smartphone business. Elop is an American, which the investors will like, but I'm not sure he brings any specific skills that will fix Nokia's challenges," he said.

"My personal view is that Nokia's board has made a safe choice when they should have made a courageous choice. Although, having an ex-Microsoft person running Nokia suggests lots of interesting possibilities for the future."

The appointment marks the end of a busy week for Nokia, after confirming the price and launch date of its hotly anticipated N8 smartphone that it hopes is the first step in its drive to gain sales back from the likes of Apple and Android.