opk
Latest
Nokia's OPK is out, Microsoft exec in as President and CEO (updated)
The rumors were true. Nokia just announced a change in leadership: Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is out, Stephen Elop, the current head of Microsoft's Business Division, is in. That's right, the very Finnish Nokia will now be led by a Canadian. Before Microsoft, Elop, a computer engineer by education, held senior executive positions at Juniper Networks, Adobe Systems, and Macromedia. The embattled OPK will vacate his position as President and CEO on September 20th and will continue to chair the Board at Nokia Siemens Networks. Money quote: "His (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." Naturally, OPK leaves with a severance package honoring his 30 years of service. That translates to 18 months gross base salary and target incentive totalling about €4.6 million plus 100,000 restricted Nokia shares that will vest on October 1, 2010. Once again, proof that it's good to be king. Update: Click through if you'd like to gaze into the hopeful eyes of Nokia's new CEO. Update 2: Nokia just introduced Stephen Elop to the world in a live press conference (available now for replay) from Espoo. Jorma Ollila, Nokia's Chairman and former CEO, confirmed that the CEO search had been ongoing since late May and OPK, for his part, has been very professional and "very gallant" throughout the process. Jorma then praised Stephen for his "very strong cultural sensitivity," a question that's very near and dear to Finns concerned about a North American taking control of their beloved Nokia. Elop will be moving to Helsinki in the very near future and his first order of business will be to "listen." Elop said that Nokia is well aware of the challenges it faces as well as the solutions to those challenges. It's his job, then, to surface those solutions and to execute on them going forward. Understandably, Stephen refused to talk about specific next steps. Stephen did say that the North American smartphone market is absolutely critical to Nokia and will be an emphasis under his leadership (as it had under OPK, unfortunately, with poor results). Hopefully, Elop's contacts in the US can help. One final tidbit of interest. When Stephen sat down with Ballmer to express his intention to leave Microsoft for Nokia, Ballmer was said to be disappointed but supportive due to his respect for Nokia as a company. He even helped with the transition. Don't you hate it when your stereotypes are debunked?
Nokia quarterly profits drop 40 percent year-on-year as CEO says speculation must end 'one way or another'
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was already a man in a hot seat and these latest numbers will do little to lower the temperature. Nokia's net profit for Q2 2010 was €221 million, which most companies would be happy with were it not for the fact that this company pulled in €380 million in the same quarter last year -- and that's with 2009, as Nokia's own report indicates, representing an economically tougher environment. Average selling prices for Nokia handsets used to be €64 back then, which dipped to €62 in the first quarter of this year, and is now at €61. Nokia says this has been caused by price pressures, "particularly in certain high-end smartphones," and though the change may appear small, a Euro's difference tends to be amplified when you're shifting upwards of 111 million units each trimester. For his part, OPK has said that the speculation about him being replaced isn't doing Nokia any good and he's determined that it "must be brought to an end one way or another." Guess we better keep an eye on this one then.
Nokia looking for new CEO to replace Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, says WSJ
It doesn't come as a complete surprise, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting (care of "people familiar with the matter") that the search is on for a new Nokia CEO to replace Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Investor confidence and falling stock prices are to blame as the company has had -- and we're being nice here -- great difficulty competing in the smartphone market against the likes of Apple and Google. Espoo isn't commenting on the matter (yet), but we'll keep you up to date. Better start updating that resume now, dear reader.
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo being replaced to soothe frustrated investors?
Well, here's a surprise: Reuters says Nokia might consider replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in order to please unhappy shareholders who don't see the cellphone giant effectively competing in the smartphone market. The report is mostly based on analyst chatter and doesn't provide any hard sources, but we've certainly seen analysts swarm around blood in the water like this in the past, so it's not totally out of the question -- especially given core concerns about Symbian^3 delays, stagnant profit growth, and (uh oh) competing against the iPhone. What's more, OPK pledged to build up Nokia's US presence when he took over, and he's obviously failed to deliver on that promise -- US marketshare has fallen from 20 percent to 7 percent, prompting one analyst quoted in the Reuters piece to wonder if "Nokia really has the desire to fix the problem." Ouch. That's a lot of big questions with no easy answers -- OPK is scheduled to speak to shareholders next week, we'll see what he has to say.
Live from Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo's CES 2010 keynote
We're in the fabulous Hilton Center waiting for OPK to take the stage; CES isn't traditionally a big show for Nokia, but you never know what kinds of wacky surprises the dude might have in store. Here we go!
