Nokia is replacing its CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, with a top Microsoft executive, Stephen Elop, as the Finnish handset manufacturer seeks to make up for ground it has lost in recent years to rivals such as iPhone-maker Apple and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion.
But already a senior Gartner analyst is questioning the move.
“I’m in two minds about this,” says Gartner vice-president Nick Jones. “Microsoft has many of the same problems as Nokia in terms of innovation, especially in the smartphone business.”
Elop is an American, which “investors will like”, but Jones doesn’t believe he brings any “specific skills that will fix Nokia’s challenges”.
“My personal view is that Nokia’s board have made a safe choice when they should have made a courageous choice,” Jones says.
“However, having an ex-Microsoft person running Nokia suggests lots of interesting possibilities for the future. Nokia plus Microsoft allying to fight Google and Apple. Now there’s a thought (and I stress it’s a thought not a Gartner prediction).” — Staff reporter, TechCentral
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