Former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop Leaves Microsoft

Former Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop is to leave Microsoft as the most high profile casualty of restructuring by CEO Satya Nadella.

Elop first left Microsoft for Nokia in 2010 but re-joined following the £4.6 billion takeover of Nokia’s devices and services business in 2014. He had even been tipped as a successor to former CEO Steve Ballmer before Nadella was appointed.

Nadella has now re-organised the company into three main groups, which he says will allow it to create the best “mobile-first, cloud-first” services and platforms for consumers and businesses.

Stephen Elop leaves

The Microsoft Devices Group (MDG) headed up by Elop has been absorbed by a new division, the Windows and Devices Group (WDG) which will also take over the existing Operating Systems Group. Terry Myerson will assume leadership of the unit, which aims to drive Windows across multiple device types, including Surface, Lumia, Xbox, Band, Surface Hub and HoloLens.

“When Stephen Elop returned to Microsoft, he oriented MDG to create the best Microsoft experience through its devices, inclusive of hardware, software and services,” said Nadella in an email to staff. “He has been a strong advocate of the need to drive focus and accountability around the delivery of these experiences and has helped drive tighter alignment toward the ambition of more personal computing.

“Stephen and I have agreed that now is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft. I regret the loss of leadership that this represents, and look forward to seeing where his next destination will be.”

Scott Guthrie will continue to lead the Cloud and Enterprise team, which will now cover Microsoft Dynamics and Qi Lu will lead the Applications and Services Group. Dynamics head Kiril Tatarinov, 25 year Microsoft veteran Eric Rudder and Chief Insight Officer Mark Penn are the other major departures from the company.

“I’ve worked closely with Stephen, Eric, Kirill and Mark and have incredible respect for each of them and wish them well,” continued Nadella. “I’m certain that matching our structure to our strategy will best position us to build products and services our customers love and ultimately drive new growth.”

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