Stephen Elop’s first job in charge of Nokia will be to find a replacement for Anssi Vanjoki, who tendered his resignation from the firm this morning.
Vanjoki, executive vice president of the firm’s Mobile Solutions division, said it was time for a change, but that he would remain committed to the vendor for the remainder of his six month notice period.
His decision comes just two days after Nokia sacked Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and announced Elop as his replacement from September 21, however Vanjoki appeared keen to distance himself from rumors he felt snubbed by the appointment of Nokia’s first non-Finnish boss.
“I felt the time has come to seek new opportunities in my life,” Vanjoki said in a statement announcing his resignation. "At the same time, I am one hundred per cent committed to doing my best for Nokia until my very last working day.”
The EVP said he would share “news about exciting new devices and solutions,” at the Nokia World event in London this week, where he is due to present a keynote.
Despite his protestations to the contrary, the timing of Vanjoki’s decision relative to Elop’s appointment makes it hard not to link the two moves.
Vanjoki and Kallasvuo have presided over one of the rockiest periods in the vendor’s history with profits tumbling in-line with its shrinking presence in the smartphone market relative to Apple’s iPhone and a host of Android-powered devices.
Nokia has seen $64 billion (€49.9 billion) written off its market capitalization since the first iPhone was released in 2007
Informa Telecoms & Media analyst Gavin Byrne said the firm might yet re-evaluate its decision not to use Android.
“Although the company remains profitable, if it continues to underperform in the important smartphone segment, pressure may grow for Nokia, and Mr. Elop, to reconsider its stance regarding Android,” Byrne told TelecomsEurope.net.
“In the longer term, the company must seriously evaluate its strategy to delivery an end-to-end user experience,” Byrne said.