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Stephen Elop
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Stephen Elop
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Stephen Elop (born 31 December 1963) is a Canadian businessman who most recently worked at Australian telecom company Telstra from April 2016.[1] In the past he had worked for Nokia as its first non-Finnish CEO[2][3] and later as Executive Vice President, Devices & Services, as well as the head of the Microsoft Business Division, as the COO of Juniper Networks, as the president of worldwide field operations at Adobe Systems, in several senior positions in Macromedia and as the CIO at Boston Chicken.[4]

Key Information

He is best known for his ill-fated tenure as Nokia CEO from 2010 to 2014, which included controversies such as the "burning platform" memo and the company's partnership with Microsoft, resulting in the move to Windows Phone software exclusivity. He was criticised for some of his decisions, which resulted in the company suffering massive losses both financially and in market share.[5] As then head of the Microsoft Devices Group, Elop was in charge of Microsoft's varied product offerings including Lumia phones, Surface Pro 3, and Xbox One.[6] Since January 2016 he has had a role as Distinguished Engineering Executive in Residence within McMaster University's Faculty of Engineering, where he originally studied in the 1980s.[7]

Early life and education

[edit]

Elop was born in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada,[8] as the second of three children.[9] His mother was a chemist and his father was an engineer at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Both of them still live in Ancaster.[10] His grandfather was a wireless operator who used morse code from ships in both the First World War and Second World War.[10] Elop was influenced by and learned much about technology from his grandfather.[11]

From 1981, Elop studied computer engineering and management at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. After his first year at the University, Elop wrote the user operating manual, called the Orange Book, for the campus's new computer system,[12] VAX-11/780.[13] During that time he helped lay 22 kilometres of Ethernet cables around campus to build one of the first computer networks in Canada.[4][14][9] He graduated second in his class with a bachelor's degree in 1986.[12] In 2007, McMaster's Faculty of Engineering made Elop the second L.W. Shemilt Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award winner and in 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by McMaster.[15]

Career

[edit]

After graduating, Elop joined a Toronto-based software development firm called Soma Inc. Soma was later acquired by Lotus Development Corporation of Massachusetts, United States, and Elop moved over, serving as director of consulting.[10][16] In 1992 he became CIO of Boston Chicken,[4][17] until the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998.[18]

Macromedia and Adobe

[edit]

In 1998 he joined Macromedia's Web/IT department[17] and worked at the company for seven years,[citation needed] where he held several senior positions, including as: general manager of the e-business division; executive vice president of worldwide field operations; COO;[19] and finally as CEO from January 2005[20] for three months before their acquisition by Adobe Systems was announced in April 2005.[21][22] Due to family reasons, Elop lived at his Canadian home in Limehouse, Ontario, commuting to work in California with Air Canada.[23]

During Elop's tenure, Macromedia continued to deliver widely used software suites like Studio 8.[24] Based on the performance of the company during this time, Elop was able to guide the company through a successful acquisition that benefited shareholders. With an exchange of $3.4 billion in stock, the acquisition combined the companies’ document management, web publishing and online video delivery tools. It proved to be a profitable move for Macromedia shareholders. After the announcement of the agreement, Macromedia shares were valued at $41.86, notably above the then current market value of $33.45.[25][26] It has been claimed Elop pushed Macromedia Flash Player to get into the mobile market. At Macromedia, Elop was nicknamed "The General" due to his military-style haircut.[27]

He was then president of worldwide field operations at Adobe, tendering his resignation in June 2006 and leaving on 5 December.[28] Elop was paid a $500,000 salary with $315,000 bonus and $1.88 million severance package during his time at Adobe.[29]

Juniper and Microsoft

[edit]

After leaving Adobe, Elop was COO of Juniper Networks for exactly one year from January 2007 – 2008.[17][30] During his short tenure he drove an internal overhaul and was credited for applying operational efficiency.[31][32] In late 2007 Elop was approached by Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, with whom he met several times including chairman Bill Gates.[10] Juniper's CEO Scott Kriens intended to name Elop as the new CEO before Elop revealed he was leaving for Microsoft. Elop named this his toughest professional moment in a Bloomberg interview.[33] Juniper's stock price rose 75% throughout 2007.[29]

Elop's spell at Microsoft started on 11 January 2008, as the head of the Business Division, responsible for the Microsoft Office and Microsoft Dynamics line of products, and as a member of the company's senior leadership team. He was effectively leading the largest division of the world's largest software company (as the Business Division was Microsoft's largest source of income).[9] It was during this time that the Business Division successfully released Office 2010,[34] giving record profits for the Business Division.[35] He became known as an operator and a change agent because of successes at Microsoft.[36] Businessweek credited Elop with pushing Microsoft to develop cloud-based versions of the company's programs, and asserted that this helped Microsoft maintain its dominance, while holding off startups looking to disrupt its traditional business model.[37] Also during his tenure as president, the Business Division formed an alliance with Nokia on 12 August 2009 to bring Microsoft Office Mobile to Symbian OS.[38][39][40]

CEO of Nokia

[edit]

On 10 September 2010, it was announced that Elop would become Nokia's CEO, replacing the dismissed Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, and becoming the first non-Finnish director in Nokia's history. Nokia's chairman Jorma Ollila commented: "Stephen has the right industry experience and leadership skills."[41] Some analysts predicted closer Nokia and Microsoft cooperation following Elop's debut.[42] His tenure began on 21 September.[43] His family stayed in Canada.[9] On 11 March 2011 Nokia announced that it had paid Elop a $6 million signing bonus, "compensation for lost income from his prior employer," on top of his $1.4 million annual salary.[44]

At the time of Elop's appointment, Nokia had been struggling in the face of increasing competition. The company's overall mobile phone market share in Q3 2010 was 28.2 percent, its lowest share since 1999, and a decline of 8.5 percent compared to the same quarter in 2009.[45] On his first day as CEO, Nokia also announced yet another delay of the release of its flagship, the Nokia N8.[46]

On his first day of work as CEO, Elop e-mailed every Nokia employee asking what changes they like to see at Nokia and what they do not. Elop was open to the employees and gave them the chance to voice their opinions - unusual for Nokia under his bureaucratic predecessors and chairman. Elop approached employees with his personal stories of "At Microsoft we beat Google [referring to Microsoft Office and Google Apps]. We can beat Apple just as well."[9] During a private presentation to employees in 2011, Elop called for open dialogue within the company's environment.[47]

During Elop's tenure (2010 to 2014), Nokia's stock price dropped 62%, their mobile phone market share was halved, their smartphone market share fell from 33% to 3%, and the company suffered a cumulative €4.9 billion loss.[48]

"Burning Platform" memo

[edit]

Sometime in early 2011, Elop issued a company internal memo titled "Burning Platform",[49] which was leaked to the press.[50] The memo likened Nokia's situation in the smartphone market to a person standing on a burning oil platform ("platform" being a reference to the name given to operating systems such as Symbian, Apple iOS and Google Android). It also mentions the introduction to a "new strategy" on 11 February. Elop stresses in the memo how significantly the market has changed:

The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem.[51][52]

The memo was not intended for the public but was eventually leaked by Engadget on 8 February 2011, becoming widely circulated and receiving a large deal of attention.[53] The "new strategy" bit highly speculated to tech bloggers that Nokia would form an alliance with Microsoft, particularly after Google's Vic Gundotra tweeted "Two turkeys do not make an Eagle" shortly after the leak. It was then reported that Nokia's VP Anssi Vanjoki originally said this quote in 2005 about BenQ's purchase of Siemens's mobile phone business.[54]

The memo was seen by some in the media as a necessary wake-up call for Nokia,[55][56] and Engadget called it "one of the most exciting" CEO memos they have seen. However Nokia's Board of Directors saw the memo as an act of misjudgment and Chairman Jorma Ollila bitterly criticized it at a board meeting.[57] This leaked memo (along with the new strategy two days later) led to the term "Elop effect" being used by opponents of the strategy. The term was coined by former Nokia executive Tomi Ahonen,[58] who said it "combines the Ratner effect with the Osborne effect", meaning both publicly attacking one's own products and promising a successor to a current product too long before it is available.[59]

In an interview with the Financial Post, Elop described the memo as "a very powerful statement of the reality of the situation without a lot of marketing polish on it."[53]

Shift to Windows Phone

[edit]
Elop on stage at the 2014 Mobile World Congress

On 11 February 2011 in a press conference in London, Elop officially announced the new strategy for Nokia, which involved a "strategic partnership" with Microsoft and shifting its smartphone strategy to Microsoft's Windows Phone, whilst gradually phasing out their in-house Symbian and MeeGo operating systems (expected it to be finalized by 2016, but actually finished in January 2014, and plans for any MeeGo devices beyond the Nokia N9 were scrapped). Elop also quoted Winston Churchill, "The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, but an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."[60] The final decision of a partnership with Microsoft was made the night before the conference.[53] Nokia chairman Ollila supported the Microsoft alliance and predicted the business will strongly recover.[61]

Questioned on why he decided to go with Windows Phone rather than choosing Android, Elop said: "The fundamental thing we were looking at was the ability to differentiate. As a member of the Android ecosystem, there were ways that we could see that we could differentiate, but we were worried over time how much differentiation we could continue to maintain or extend."[53] The move was seen as a risky 'all-eggs-in-one-basket' strategy,[62] inspired by his previous success at Macromedia by putting all focus on Flash in the early 2000s.[9]

The first Nokia Windows Phone smartphone shipped in November 2011, the Nokia Lumia 800, was made in the form of a device design identically similar (only an additional camera button was added) to the Nokia N9, the first MeeGo device. The N9 enjoyed positive reviews for attractive hardware and a well-designed software experience—though at launch reviewers noted that a healthy software ecosystem was non-existent and would almost certainly not develop. However Elop stuck with the Microsoft deal, saying that MeeGo development will not continue even with the N9's success, a move that was widely criticised.[63]

From Q3 2010 to Q3 2011, Nokia's smartphone sales had steeply declined by 34 percent, from 27.2 million units to 16.8 million.[64] In the next year-on-year results, and following the release of its first Windows Phones, its smartphone sales had declined by more than half, from 16.8 million to 6.3 million units.[65]

In an interview held late 2012, Elop stated the reason for switching to Windows instead of Android:

"the single most important word is 'differentiation'. Entering the Android environment late, we knew we would have a hard time differentiating."[66]

When asked if he regretted this choice in 2013, Elop said "What we were worried about a couple of years ago was the very high risk that one hardware manufacturer could come to dominate Android" thanks to vertical integration, and pointing out "Now fast forward to today and examine the Android ecosystem, and there's a lot of good devices from many different companies, but one company [Samsung] has essentially now become the dominant player". Elop noted that Nokia was well behind and would have to play catch up to Samsung, saying "we were respectful of the fact that we were quite late in making that decision. Many others were in that space already". Elop also justified Windows Phone as giving Nokia a chance to market itself as an alternative to Apple and Samsung.[67] In another interview in 2013, Elop implied that Samsung Electronics would have been dominant in the Android space, leaving no space for other OEMs. A journalist from The Guardian agreed, noting HTC's decline in revenue.[68] However, later on Nokia would begin reweighing its options and at Mobile World Congress held in February 2014 Stephen Elop took stage to unveil Nokia's first Android Phone, Nokia X.[69]

Following the launch of the Nokia Lumia 920 flagship and its positive reception and apparent strong sales, Elop said to an Yle newscaster in December 2012: "...if you think about the last year, it's been a very difficult year. We've made many difficult decisions, we've made changes. But what we've also been doing is our very best work in making great products and getting them to consumers. So whether it's the Lumia 920, whether it is your Asha Full Touch products - the people of Nokia are doing their best work, but what's happening now, is that it's not us saying that, it's the people around the world. Our employees are feeling that, [...] so that creates a sense of hope and optimism. Now at the same time, we know we have a lot of hard work still had [...] but there's that sense that the hard work, that that seesaw has really begun to pay off. You feel that in the company."[70] He also thanked the Finnish shareholders for supporting Nokia during its "darkest days."[71]

The company's best-selling model was the Nokia Lumia 520, although as a budget class product it suggested that Nokia continued to struggle in the high-end market,[72] despite positive reception of the award winning Nokia Lumia 1020 cameraphone.

Criticism and reputation

[edit]

During his tenure, Elop faced vocal criticism from both industry specialists and employees.[73][74][75] In 2011, Elop announced that some 11,000 employees would have to be laid off as part of a plan to "restructure" Nokia's business, and in June 2012 it was announced that further 10,000 layoffs were in order and that several facilities would have to be closed down due to budget cuts.[76][77] Some critics, especially in Finland, started to speculate that Elop could be a trojan horse, whose mission was to prepare Nokia for a future acquisition by Microsoft.[73][78][79][80][81] When confronted with the theory by an anonymous attendee of the 2011 Mobile World Congress, Elop denied the speculation stating, "The obvious answer is, no. But however, I am very sensitive to the perception and awkwardness of that situation. We made sure that the entire management team was involved in the process [...] Everyone on the management team believed this was the right decision," referring to Nokia's adoption of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.[81][82] Elop denied the accusations again in an interview in 2014.[83]

In the book The Decline and Fall of Nokia published in 2014, author David J. Cord firmly rejects the idea that Elop was a Trojan Horse. He claims that all of Elop's decisions were logical when they were made, and he also cites the testimony of other Nokia executives who were part of those decision-making processes.[84] Another book published later in 2014 called Operation Elop also refutes the Trojan Horse claims. Its Finnish authors, journalists from Kauppalehti, noted that Elop "made monumental mistakes - but all in good faith."[85]

Acquisition by Microsoft

[edit]

In May 2013, after the two years that he had been granted for the transition to the Windows Phone platform, Elop was pressed by Nokia's shareholders about the lack of results compared to the competitors and the insufficient sales figures to secure the company's survival. During the annual general meeting, several shareholders voiced that they were running out of patience with Elop's efforts in putting Nokia back to the smartphone race. Elop replied that there was no turning back on his decision of adopting Windows Phone, while some analysts criticized Elop for closing doors to alternative strategies and going all-in with Microsoft's operating system. Some analysts speculated that Nokia had already lost the smartphone race to Samsung and Apple, and that if they were to regain their position in the market, it would have to be by means of low-end devices such as the Asha.[86]

In June 2013, it was reported that Microsoft had been to advanced talks for buying Nokia, but the negotiations had faltered over price and worries about Nokia's slumping market position.[87] As of June 2013, Nokia's mobile phone market share had fallen from 23%[88] to 15%, their smartphone market share gone from 32.6%[89] to 3.3%,[90] and their stock value dropped by 85% since Elop's takeover.[91] On 3 September 2013, it was announced that Microsoft had agreed to buy Nokia's mobile phone and devices business for 5.4 billion euros (US$7.2bn; £4.6bn) and that Elop would stand down as Nokia's CEO to become Executive Vice President of the Microsoft Devices Group business unit.[92][93] On the day's press conference, Elop said Nokia had much to be proud of, saying "We have transitioned through a period of incredible difficulty and we are now delivering the best products we have ever delivered, while simultaneously having changed our culture and the way we work." He also said he felt sadness as it changes what Nokia stands for, but added that Nokia products will become an even stronger competitor together with Microsoft.[94][95] Elop was said to bring a unique set of skills back to Microsoft, given his varied leadership experience and proven ability to manage products and divisions at the company (i.e. Microsoft Office).[96]

After Elop stepped down as CEO of Nokia, Risto Siilasmaa replaced him as interim CEO before the appointment of Rajeev Suri. Nokia's devices and services business would ultimately become Microsoft Mobile on 25 April 2014.[97]

Despite Nokia's major decline in market share, it continued to be the second largest mobile phone manufacturer overall at the time of the Microsoft sale completion in 2014. This was mostly from sales of its basic feature phones: specifically in the high-profit and competitive smartphone market, Nokia did not make the top eight list of manufacturers.[98]

Bonus controversy

[edit]

Controversy arose around Elop receiving a €18.8 million bonus after Nokia sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft and he stepped down as the CEO.[99][100] The controversy was further fueled after it was revealed that his contract had been revised on the same day as the deal was announced.[101] Moreover, the chairman of Nokia's Board of Directors gave initially incorrect information about the contract to the public, and had to correct his statements later.[102] Shortly before his departure from Nokia, Elop had filed for divorce, which he also cited as a reason to reject a renegotiation of the controversial bonus.[103] He claimed he couldn't afford a reduction of the payoff because his wife would demand half of it.[104] Elop also enjoyed a preferential tax status in Finland, a 35% fixed-rate income tax irrespective of the size of income, while typical tax payers in Finland pay a progressive income tax.[105] Approximately 70% of the bonus costs were absorbed by Microsoft during the acquisition, the majority of which came in the form of accelerated stock awards.[106]

Criticism spread to politics, with Prime Minister of Finland Jyrki Katainen telling Finnish television that the payoff was "quite outrageous", and that it cannot be justified given the country's difficult economic times. Jutta Urpilainen, the minister of finance, wrote on her blog "In addition to the general toxic atmosphere, it [the payoff] may be a threat to social harmony".[107] Some Nokia employees and investors also shared concerns.[108]

Falsely reported quote

[edit]

A quote has been attributed to Elop by some online sources claiming that he said, at the end of his speech to the Nokia board following the Microsoft acquisition: "we didn't do anything wrong, but somehow we lost". The claim also mentions that the quote was followed by emotional "tears" from Elop and other Nokia executives who were present.[109] However, Microsoft Azure architect Clemens Vasters published an article on LinkedIn claiming that this is fake and "nonsense", citing the full press conference video that is publicly available on YouTube that does not feature the quote or emotions.[110]

Microsoft Devices Group

[edit]

In 2014, Elop returned to Microsoft as executive vice president of the Microsoft Devices Group.[111] From that point, Elop focused on the team's “mandate to help people do more”[6] and their interest in "[putting] the entirety of the Microsoft experience in people's hands." Some major developments from the group included new Nokia, and later Microsoft-branded Lumia smartphones, the launch of new products including Microsoft HoloLens[112] and the Microsoft Band,[113] and the spin out of Nokia MixRadio[114] to Japan's Line Corporation.

On 17 June 2015, Elop was laid off from his position at Microsoft as part of massive job cuts in the Microsoft Devices Group. According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, "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."[115]

Telstra

[edit]

On 16 March 2016, Australia's largest telecommunications provider Telstra announced that Elop would be joining the company in a newly created position as Group Executive Technology, Innovation and Strategy.[116][117][118]

In his first speech at a Telstra conference in September 2016, Elop cited Nokia as an example of a "great" company that can self-assess and "transform" when necessary, referencing its success as a networks equipment supplier.[119][11] He said that Telstra was also needing a necessary transformation to become more of a technology company.[120]

Elop was dismissed from Telstra as part of its restructuring on 31 July 2018.[121]

APiJET

[edit]

On 17 September 2019, APiJET, a Seattle-based joint venture of Aviation Partners, Inc. and iJet Technologies which makes real-time aircraft data analytics, announced that Elop had been named its CEO.[122]

As of January 2021, Stephen Elop has terminated his assignment as CEO to APiJET, serves on the APiJET board and is senior advisor to APiJET.[123]

Personal life

[edit]

In an interview, Elop said that he sees his Canadian roots as a "significant source of strength in the world", and he added "I will forever in my life be a Canadian, first and foremost."[53]

In his spare time, Elop is an avid recreational pilot, owning a Cessna CitationJet. Elop is also a fan of the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team.[124] During his time working for Macromedia and Adobe in the mid-2000s, Elop occupied his weekends with his children.[9]

Elop was married to Nancy from Wyoming, Ontario who he first met when studying at McMaster. They have five children: triplet girls, an adopted Chinese girl, and a boy.[21][10] In August 2013 he filed for divorce from his wife of 26 years, having been separated since October 2012.[9] Elop listed for sale his US$5 million mansion in Redmond, Washington, U.S., which he purchased in 2008 and lived in with his family.[125] The divorce finalised on 3 July 2014.[9]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Stephen Elop

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia

Stephen Elop (born December 31, 1963) is a Canadian business executive recognized primarily for his tenure as chief executive officer of Nokia Corporation from September 2010 to September 2013.
As Nokia's first non-Finnish CEO in its 145-year history, Elop inherited a company facing severe competitive pressures in the smartphone sector, where its Symbian operating system had lost ground to Apple's iOS and Google's Android. In February 2011, he issued the "Burning Platform" memo, likening Nokia's situation to a man on a flaming oil rig forced to jump into icy waters, critiquing internal inertia and announcing a strategic pivot to partner exclusively with Microsoft for Windows Phone as Nokia's primary platform.
This decision, while bold in addressing Nokia's technological lag, proved unsuccessful as Windows Phone failed to gain significant market traction, contributing to Nokia's declining share from over 30% in 2010 to around 3% by 2013; it culminated in Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services division in September 2013. Elop's leadership drew criticism for massive layoffs, a plummeting stock price, and accusations of favoring his former employer Microsoft—a charge he denied—yet it reflected an attempt to break from a failing proprietary ecosystem amid rapid industry shifts. Following the sale, Elop rejoined Microsoft as executive vice president of the Devices Group, overseeing the integrated Nokia assets until his departure in 2015. Prior roles included president of Microsoft's Business Division, managing the Office product suite, and executive positions at Juniper Networks, Adobe, and Macromedia.

Early Life and Education

Birth and Family Background

Stephen Elop was born on December 31, 1963, in , . He was the middle child of three boys born to professional parents; his mother worked as a , and his father was an who designed transformers at an electrical company.

Academic and Early Professional Formation

Elop enrolled at in , in 1981, pursuing a combined program in and . He graduated in 1986 with a and Management degree, having contributed to early campus computing initiatives during his studies. Upon graduation, Elop entered the software industry by joining Soma Inc., a Toronto-based development firm specializing in custom applications, which was subsequently acquired by Lotus Development Corporation. At Lotus, he advanced to director of the Consulting Services Group, focusing on and systems integration for enterprise clients. This role honed his expertise in and optimization. In 1992, Elop transitioned to corporate IT leadership as Chief Information Officer at Boston Chicken, a U.S. fast-food chain undergoing rapid expansion. He oversaw the company's technology infrastructure amid aggressive growth, though the firm filed for in 1998 following over-expansion and financial strain. These positions established Elop's foundational skills in , consulting, and scaling IT operations across industries.

Professional Career

Early Roles in Software and Networking

Elop's initial involvement in software came after his graduation from in 1986, when he joined the Toronto-based software firm Soma Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Lotus Development Corporation. There, he advanced to roles including director, focusing on and operations until approximately 1992. In 1998, Elop joined , a developer of multimedia and web application software, initially in senior operational roles such as , where he managed worldwide field operations including sales and customer-facing functions. He was appointed president and chief executive officer effective January 19, 2005, leading the company through its $3.4 billion acquisition by Systems announced in April 2005 and completed in December 2005. Following the acquisition, Elop transitioned to Systems as president of worldwide field operations in December 2005, overseeing global sales, field marketing, partnerships, and customer care. He resigned from this position in June 2006 but remained with the company until December 5, 2006. Elop then entered the networking sector as of , a provider of high-performance networking products, starting in January 2007. His one-year tenure focused on operational efficiency and customer-facing strategies, though specific achievements during this brief period were limited by its duration, ending in January 2008 when he departed for .

Microsoft Business Division Leadership

Stephen Elop assumed the role of President of 's Business Division in January 2008, succeeding and becoming a member of the company's senior leadership team. The division, 's largest by revenue, encompassed key product lines including the suite (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), enterprise resource planning software under Microsoft Dynamics, and server technologies like Exchange Server and . During Elop's tenure, which lasted until September 2010, the Business Division reported revenue of approximately $19 billion by early 2010, driven primarily by licensing and related services. Elop emphasized a strategic shift toward hybrid models blending with services, advocating for the "Software + Services" approach to meet evolving customer demands for flexibility and online capabilities, including early integrations with platforms like Windows Azure. This period saw modest revenue growth, with the division posting a 3% increase in 2009 compared to 2008, amid broader economic challenges, while maintaining as a dominant enterprise productivity tool. Elop departed Microsoft on September 21, 2010, to become CEO of Nokia Corporation, leaving behind a division that continued to underpin Microsoft's profitability through sustained demand for its core business software offerings. His leadership focused on and partner development, positioning the division for future transitions without major disruptions or publicized setbacks during his time.

Nokia CEO Tenure

Stephen Elop was appointed President and of Corporation on September 21, 2010, following an announcement on , succeeding Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who had led the company since 2006. As the first non-Finnish CEO in 's history, Elop brought experience from , where he had headed the Business Division. , once holding approximately 40% of the global mobile handset market at its peak in 2007, faced intensifying competition from Apple's and Android devices by 2010, with its operating system struggling against more advanced rivals. In February 2011, Elop issued an internal memo titled "Burning Platform," likening Nokia's predicament to a worker on a rig engulfed in flames, emphasizing the urgent need for drastic change to avoid irrelevance. The memo critiqued internal complacency and platform fragmentation, signaling a pivot away from Nokia's and systems. On February 11, 2011, Nokia announced a with to adopt as its primary smartphone platform, aiming to leverage Microsoft's ecosystem for faster innovation and global reach. This alliance included joint marketing, app development, and hardware integration, with Nokia releasing Lumia-branded devices running starting in late 2011. Under Elop's leadership, Nokia underwent significant restructuring, including workforce reductions of over 10,000 employees by 2012 and a shift toward lower-cost in . However, the company's global declined from over 30% in 2010 to about 16% by mid-2013, while its segment eroded further amid the failure of to gain substantial traction against and Android. Nokia's price fell approximately 62% during his tenure, reflecting concerns over persistent losses in the Devices and Services division, which reported negative operating margins. Elop's decisions drew criticism for accelerating Nokia's decline by abandoning in-house operating systems in favor of Microsoft's, which some analysts argued doomed the company to dependency on a third-party platform with limited developer support. Detractors labeled him a "Trojan horse" for Microsoft due to his prior employment there and the subsequent sale of Nokia's handset business, though Elop denied such intent, asserting the moves addressed an already dire situation inherited from prior management. On September 3, 2013, Microsoft agreed to acquire Nokia's Devices and Services unit for 5.44 billion euros (about $7.2 billion), including patents and mapping services, effectively ending Elop's CEO role as the division transitioned under Microsoft oversight; he rejoined Microsoft as executive vice president of the Devices Group. The deal, later renegotiated to 4.6 billion euros after regulatory scrutiny, marked Nokia's exit from consumer mobile devices to focus on networking infrastructure.

Return to Microsoft Devices Group

Following the September 3, 2013, announcement of 's $7.2 billion acquisition of 's Devices and Services division, Stephen Elop stepped down as Nokia CEO to rejoin , where he had previously served as head of the Business Division from 2008 to 2010. The deal positioned Elop to lead an expanded devices organization incorporating 's mobile hardware alongside 's existing Surface tablets, gaming, and related studios. The acquisition closed on April 25, 2014, after which Elop assumed the role of Executive Vice President of the Devices Group, succeeding Julie Larson-Green, who had led the unit on an interim basis and then transitioned to Chief Design and Experiences Officer. In this capacity, Elop oversaw the integration of Nokia's Lumia lineup, which was rebranded under branding starting in 2015, and directed efforts to unify hardware strategy across phones, tablets, and consoles. Elop's leadership emphasized accelerating the convergence of Windows ecosystems with acquired Nokia assets, though Microsoft continued to lag in global smartphone market share, holding under 3% by mid-2014 amid competition from Android and iOS platforms. He publicly defended prior Nokia strategies, such as the shift to Windows Phone, as necessary adaptations to competitive pressures during a Seattle Times interview on his first day in the role. On June 17, 2015, new CEO restructured the executive team, merging the Devices Group with the Windows operating system unit under Terry Myerson and announcing Elop's departure from the company. Elop's 14-month tenure concluded without a reported severance beyond standard terms, amid broader criticisms of 's mobile hardware performance post-acquisition.

Telstra Executive Role

In March 2016, announced the appointment of Stephen Elop as group executive for technology, , and strategy, a newly created position aimed at advancing the company's technological transformation. Elop commenced the role on April 4, 2016, reporting directly to Telstra CEO Andrew Penn, and split his time between bases in the United States and . His responsibilities included overseeing Telstra's technology strategy, fostering , and positioning the firm as a leading technology-driven telecommunications provider amid competitive pressures in mobile and services. During his tenure, Elop emphasized curating technology partnerships and ecosystems, such as collaborations for smart home integrations and early adoption of technologies, to enhance Telstra's service offerings beyond traditional telecom infrastructure. He contributed to Telstra's broader 2022 strategy, which involved operational restructuring to reduce costs and improve efficiency in response to declining growth and regulatory challenges in Australia's telecom market. Elop departed on July 30, 2018, as part of a major executive reshuffle tied to the ongoing implementation of the turnaround plan, which sought to streamline leadership and refocus on core network investments following years of underperformance in enterprise and consumer segments. The move aligned with 's efforts to consolidate technology oversight under fewer executives amid criticisms of fragmented innovation efforts during his period.

APiJET CEO and Recent Board Positions

In September 2019, Stephen Elop was appointed of APiJET, a Seattle-based firm focused on processing for jet performance and . APiJET, a involving Partners and other entities, develops software to analyze , enabling operators to optimize and reduce downtime through algorithms. Under Elop's leadership, the company emphasized accelerating commercialization of its platform, leveraging his prior experience in scaling technology products at and . Elop served in this role until approximately 2021, after which he transitioned to advisory and board capacities while pursuing other executive commitments. Following his APiJET tenure, Elop assumed several prominent board roles. In September 2021, he became of Digital.ai (formerly Tasktop), an AI-driven software delivery platform, before advancing to executive chairman, a position he holds as of 2023, overseeing strategic direction for enterprise and . In July 2022, Nintex, a process automation software provider, appointed Elop as chairman of its , where he guides growth in and solutions for over 10,000 organizations. That same year, Elop joined the board of trustees for the (AOPA), the world's largest community representing 300,000 members, drawing on his personal interest in flying since 1987. Additionally, since 2016, Elop has held the role of Distinguished Engineering Executive in Residence at McMaster University's Faculty of , mentoring students and contributing to programs in .

Leadership Philosophy and Controversies

Management Principles and "Burning Platform" Approach

Elop's management principles emphasized transparency, direct communication, and collective to foster adaptive in high-stakes environments. He advocated operating openly and honestly, engaging in respectful before affirmatively supporting final decisions, assuming positive intentions in others' actions, and promoting internal partnerships for balanced outcomes while competing respectfully externally. These principles were intended to align organizations around clear goals, particularly during periods of disruption, by soliciting broad employee input—such as through company-wide emails asking what to change, preserve, or avoid—and modeling across all levels. Central to Elop's approach was the "burning platform" metaphor, used to convey existential urgency and compel radical behavioral shifts in complacent organizations facing competitive threats. In a , 2011, internal memo to Nokia employees, Elop drew an analogy from a platform worker who awoke to flames engulfing his workspace, forcing him to jump into freezing waters below to survive; the man later credited the "burning platform" with prompting his decisive action. Elop applied this to , declaring, "Nokia, our platform is burning," to highlight the company's eroding position amid the rise of and Android ecosystems, where competitors captured not just through devices but via integrated developer, application, and hardware networks. The memo identified Symbian's obsolescence as a primary "explosion," with Nokia's smartphone market share in premium segments dropping to below 40% by late 2010 against Apple's 61% dominance, alongside delays in MeeGo development and declining brand preference (e.g., falling to 20% in the UK from prior highs). Elop argued that incremental fixes were insufficient, urging Nokia to either build, catalyze, or join a viable ecosystem—foreshadowing the February 11, 2011, partnership with Microsoft for Windows Phone integration—to avoid annihilation, while acknowledging internal cultural silos and execution failures as exacerbating factors. This crisis-framing tactic aimed to unify the workforce around bold reinvention, though it presupposed that heightened awareness alone could overcome entrenched operational inertia.

Nokia-Specific Criticisms and Defenses

Critics argue that Elop's decision to abandon Nokia's proprietary operating systems, Symbian and MeeGo, in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone accelerated the company's decline in the smartphone market. Upon joining as CEO in September 2010, Nokia held a significant position in overall mobile phones with around 40% global market share, but its smartphone segment was already eroding due to Symbian's outdated user interface and slow adaptation to touchscreens. Elop's February 2011 partnership announcement with Microsoft led to the cancellation of MeeGo development, which some analysts viewed as a viable alternative for differentiation, resulting in the loss of billions in invested R&D and market positioning. By 2013, Nokia's smartphone market share had plummeted to under 3%, contributing to nearly €5 billion in losses during Elop's tenure and a sharp drop in overall device sales from dominant levels in 2010. Elop faced accusations of acting as a "" for , given his prior executive role there, allegedly facilitating the 2013 acquisition of Nokia's devices business for $7.2 billion at a undervalued price amid the company's weakened state. His "Burning Platform" memo, leaked in February 2011, starkly diagnosed Nokia's crisis but reportedly demoralized employees and eroded investor confidence, wiping out significant market value—Nokia's stock fell over 60% from Elop's appointment to the Microsoft deal. A 2014 book analysis described Elop as "one of the world's worst" CEOs for failing to leverage Nokia's engineering strengths or pursue diversification akin to Samsung's Android strategy, instead tying the firm to a ecosystem that captured less than 3% global share by 2013. Defenders contend that Nokia's woes predated Elop, stemming from internal silos, delayed touchscreen transitions, and Symbian's incompatibility with app ecosystems dominated by and Android, which had already reduced Nokia's smartphone share below 30% by late 2010. The Microsoft alliance injected billions in platform support and marketing funds, enabling Lumia sales to rise 180% quarter-over-quarter to 5.6 million units in Q1 2013, providing a temporary lifeline absent other options. Elop maintained that offered a "third ecosystem" for carriers seeking alternatives to Apple and dominance, arguing that sticking with fragmented or unproven risked irrelevance in a market where Android's share surged to 25% by Elop's arrival. Finnish perspectives highlight pre-Elop mismanagement and infighting that stifled , positioning his bold pivot—however flawed—as a necessary response to existential threats rather than the root cause of failure. Empirical outcomes underscore the strategy's shortcomings, as Windows Phone's developer ecosystem lagged, but causal analysis suggests broader factors: Microsoft's inconsistent execution and the duopoly's network effects doomed third platforms regardless of leadership. Elop's approach, while risky, addressed Nokia's platform stagnation, though critics note alternatives like Android licensing—pursued successfully by others—might have preserved more value without full Microsoft dependency.

Bonus and Ethical Debates

Upon the closing of 's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services division on April 25, 2014, Stephen Elop received a compensation package valued at approximately €18.8 million (about $25.5 million USD), comprising €14.6 million in equity awards and €4.2 million in salary and short-term incentives triggered by the "change of control" provision in his 2010 . Nokia's board had amended Elop's employment terms in September 2010 to include accelerated of performance-based shares upon such an event, differing from the prior CEO's structure, a fact Nokia's chairman initially described inaccurately as "essentially the same" before admitting the error on September 24, 2013. covered roughly 70% of the payout, as Elop rejoined the company as executive vice president of the Devices Group. The bonus structure drew widespread criticism for potential conflicts of interest, given Elop's prior 16-year tenure at , including as head of the Business Division, before joining as its first non-Finnish CEO on September 21, 2010. Detractors, including Finnish media and politicians, argued that the incentive aligned Elop's interests with facilitating a sale to rather than independently revitalizing , especially after his February 2011 "burning platform" memo abandoned in-house and platforms for exclusive reliance on , a move that preceded the 2011 strategic partnership and ultimate acquisition. 's mobile market share plummeted from 31% in 2010 to under 3% by 2013 under Elop's leadership, fueling claims of deliberate —dubbed the "Trojan horse" theory—that prioritized his former employer's ecosystem over competitive . Elop defended the payout as standard reflective of his efforts to steer through existential threats, noting in a September 19, 2013, statement that the deal preserved thousands of jobs and provided with funds to refocus on networking. Supporters, including some analysts, contended that 's pre-Elop stagnation in software ecosystems and internal divisions predated his arrival, rendering the pivot a pragmatic, if unsuccessful, response to Android's dominance rather than self-serving malfeasance. Nonetheless, public backlash in prompted calls for Elop to forgo portions of the bonus, which he declined, citing contractual obligations; Siilasmaa echoed that repayment would undermine trust in executive agreements. The episode highlighted broader debates on golden parachutes in distressed firms, with critics questioning whether such incentives distort strategic decisions toward short-term exits over long-term viability.

Personal Life

Family and Personal Interests

Elop married Nancy Elop, with whom he had five children: triplet daughters born in 1999, an adopted daughter from , and a son. The family resided in , during his tenure, where the children ranged in age from 13 to 20 as of 2012. In August 2013, after 26 years of marriage, Elop filed for , amid public scrutiny tied to his compensation package. Elop's personal interests include avid support for hockey, reflecting his Canadian roots. He has prioritized family time and activities with his children, though details remain private given his low public profile on non-professional matters.

Aviation Enthusiasm and Other Pursuits

Elop holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with multiengine land and single-engine sea ratings, along with a Part 107 remote pilot certificate for drones. He owns a Cessna Citation M2 light business jet, for which he completed type rating training in 2018 while maintaining a demanding executive schedule, flying initially with a co-pilot to meet insurance requirements. His involvement extends to serving as a director for the Citation Jet Pilots organization, reflecting a sustained personal commitment to aviation. Elop has been described as an avid licensed pilot since at least the early 2010s, integrating flying into his lifestyle alongside professional roles. Beyond aviation, Elop maintains interests in family activities and sports. He shares five children with his wife and prioritizes family pursuits, including outdoor and recreational endeavors with them. As a Canadian native, he is an enthusiastic hockey fan, a passion noted in profiles of his . These pursuits underscore a balanced approach to personal time amid his career in and .

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