Nokia CEO Stephen Elop To Receive £16m Payoff Ahead Of Microsoft Return

Former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is set to receive a huge $25.4 million (£16m) payoff when Microsoft’s takeover of the Finnish manufacturer is completed, despite the fact he will be taking up another role with the new parent company.

The settlement was revealed in information sent to shareholders ahead of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at which Nokia shareholders are expected to approve the acquisition, which was agreed earlier this month, and will cost Microsoft £4.6 billion.

Elop is entitled to 18 months of his salary, along with a “management short term cash incentive” worth $5.7 million and share awards of $19.7 million. Elop had been an employee of Microsoft before he joined Nokia in 2010 to become its first non-Finnish chief executive.

Stephen Elop payoff

During his tenure, Nokia switched from its own mobile operating system to Windows Phone as it looked to arrest its falling share in the smartphone market. This strategy has seen some limited success, particularly in the UK, but its share is still dwarfed by that of Apple and Android manufacturers.

Once the takeover is completed, Elop will re-join Microsoft in a new position having previously been touted as a potential replacement for the outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer.

The first devices to be announced by Nokia following the announcement of the pending takeover are expected to be the six-inch Nokia 1520 phablet smartphone and a 10.1 Windows RT-based tablet, believed to be codenamed Vanquish. They are expected to be unveiled at an event in New York on 26 September.

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