Microsoft ousts ex-Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, combines OS and devices teams
Microsoft on Wednesday announced the departure of former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as part of a broad restructuring at the company, one that will see its Operating Systems Group and Microsoft Devices Group merge into one unit.
Elop's exit from Microsoft is actually his second departure from the Redmond, Wash., software giant, as he headed its Business Division responsible for the Office Suite from 2008 to 2010. He was then recruited by Nokia in September of 2010 to take over the struggling smartphone maker.
While at Nokia, Elop issued his famous "Burning Platform" memo in which he announced the Finnish handset company would switch from its own Symbian operating system. Nokia eventually settled on embracing Windows Phone, the mobile platform of Elop's ex-company, Microsoft.
The switch to Windows Phone was too little, too late for Nokia, however, and the company spun off its smartphone division in a $7.2 billion sale to Microsoft in 2013. That acquisition meant that Elop had come full circle, and was back at Microsoft under the title of vice president in the company's Devices and Services business.
At one point, Elop was even seen as a candidate for CEO of Microsoft to replace then-Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. But instead the company named veteran executive Satya Nadella as its next CEO in February of 2014.
Along with Elop, Kirill Tatarinov and Eric Rudder will depart after "a designated transition period." Their departures are related to the engineering restructuring changes, while Chief Insights OFficer Mark Penn is leaving in September for "another venture outside Microsoft."
Microsoft said on Wednesday that its new structure will focus on "enabling more personal computing experiences powered by the Windows ecosystem." The new head of the Windows and Devices Group is Executive Vice President Terry Myerson.
"We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions," said Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella. "This change will enable us to deliver better products and services that our customers love at a more rapid pace."
Elop's exit from Microsoft is actually his second departure from the Redmond, Wash., software giant, as he headed its Business Division responsible for the Office Suite from 2008 to 2010. He was then recruited by Nokia in September of 2010 to take over the struggling smartphone maker.
While at Nokia, Elop issued his famous "Burning Platform" memo in which he announced the Finnish handset company would switch from its own Symbian operating system. Nokia eventually settled on embracing Windows Phone, the mobile platform of Elop's ex-company, Microsoft.
The switch to Windows Phone was too little, too late for Nokia, however, and the company spun off its smartphone division in a $7.2 billion sale to Microsoft in 2013. That acquisition meant that Elop had come full circle, and was back at Microsoft under the title of vice president in the company's Devices and Services business.
At one point, Elop was even seen as a candidate for CEO of Microsoft to replace then-Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. But instead the company named veteran executive Satya Nadella as its next CEO in February of 2014.
Along with Elop, Kirill Tatarinov and Eric Rudder will depart after "a designated transition period." Their departures are related to the engineering restructuring changes, while Chief Insights OFficer Mark Penn is leaving in September for "another venture outside Microsoft."
Microsoft said on Wednesday that its new structure will focus on "enabling more personal computing experiences powered by the Windows ecosystem." The new head of the Windows and Devices Group is Executive Vice President Terry Myerson.
"We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions," said Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella. "This change will enable us to deliver better products and services that our customers love at a more rapid pace."
Comments
He was ballmer 2.0.
Elop was 'dead man walking' once he was passed over for the CEO spot to Satya after Balmer quit.
What boggles my mind is that some folks (including some Finns, apparently) still think that Apple killed Nokia.
Instead, it was an inside job (of sorts), I think. They never shoulda hired that Vidkun Quisling dude as CEO.
IMO Microsoft should stick to cloud and services and get out of hardware.
Well...if their hardware didn't suck, it might be ok. But I really scratch my head when I read about Microsoft. I don't know that that make anything actually relevant. I really have no interest whatsoever in anything they make.
Put this sick dog out of its misery already.
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The surface is actually starting to gain some traction in the market and I've always felt that their peripherals are of a decent quality.
It is neither a truly great laptop, nor an elite tablet.
It's typical Microsoft "jack of all trades, master of none."
Ms is a software company at heart. When they buckle down, they come up with good stuff.
But too often, they are more greed oriented then quality oriented. And it overflows into the end product.
Apples key to success is that they control the whole enchilada. From hardware to software to ecosystem.
Ms has been trying to be another Apple doing that too. The problem is that they are trying to slap something together with some good ideas and expect it to win.
But the fault in the glue that brings it together is that they just don't CARE enough about the end product and/or experience.
At least not enough to support it through a drought or even a market failure. Therefore, they will not have the same type of brand loyalty.
They don't take real risks. The iPhone was a bold move and a risk. The iPad was too to a lesser extent. The surface? Just another computer compromised to fit in another form factor that it's not really meant for.
Windows 8 was actually a brilliant UI for a tablet/phone etc. even though it wasn't fully baked. but windows 10 is nearly abandoning all of it, scrunching it up in one spot.
Better for point and click than touch.
Ultimately ms just seems to not "get" hardware any more than Google does with its failed Pixel laptop.
The case/keyboard for the surface is decent. But the surface concept as a whole is not.
It's "good enough" but not great. And people by and large seem to be over the "good enough" craze.
If we want a great laptop, we can buy a MBP. A great desktop? IMac or PowerMac. A great tablet? IPad.
They are perfect for what they are meant to be. No confusion. No compromise. Just great for each form factor.
And then the safety and ease of the ecosystem.
Until others care as much, pay as much attention to detail, and invest as much into the ENTIRE experience, they'll always be also Rans.
Next up, Hololens. I smell another Kinect in their future.
It's kind of sad to go by the mall and see the large Microsoft kiosk store void of customers. There's always some employees there trying to make the best of it.
The phone is probably dead man walking. If you read forums on the phone and Win10 it sounds like a mess. Too many phones with too many model numbers and no flagship phone. And a lot of features wont come to many of the phones. And there are stlll a lot of issues with Win10.
MS can do a lot of great things, but keeping the scope confined isn't one of them. Win 10 won't be out until fall and...maybe new phones?
Nokia was on already on a downward spiral when Elop joined. Unfortunately he accelerated - rather than halted - the decline and did so in the most humiliating way possible for the company (allying with the old foe).
He's lucky that the Ratner Effect had already been named after someone else.
Uh, no, Mr Nadella: You have no right to say that. This is how Tim Cook talks about Apple products. "Love" is not a word I would ever f**king use to describe any Microsoft product. [B]EVER.[/B]
The only thing I ever "loved" about a PC was the Quit icon, marked "Start."
"That our customers love..."
Uh, no, Mr Nadella: You have no right to say that. This is how Tim Cook talks about Apple products. "Love" is not a word I would ever f**king use to describe any Microsoft product. EVER.
Right on... I noticed that phrase, too.
MS has been more interested in cash than getting their product OUT of BETA before they release them!!
Let's see... Elop came to Nokia with an undisclosed agenda on behalf of Microsoft... wrecked Nokia to the point where Microsoft could scoop it up cheap... and now gets to leave both companies with a fat golden parachute. Mission accomplished, sir!
Microsoft, too, achieved its goals: It got a phone manufacturing unit at a fire-sale price (thanks to Stephen "Burning Platform" Elop!), with no one hurt except the employees of Nokia, their families, and their communities. That's the sort of Win-Devastating Loss scenario that Microsoft calls a Win-Win!
Their phones - especially recent ones - are good value for the money, too. The hardware is good for asking price, and OS is so much smoother than anything-Android, and runs well on very old and very limited hardware. In this case, their downfall is not in poor software and hardware, but late appearance to the scene and, subsequently, limited apps choice. It will be interesting to see if their Win 10 efforts with universal apps, continuum... will improve their position somewhat.
I'm finding some difficulties understanding how something that you would, or would not do, has to make any impact on Mr. Nadella.
Beside that... I actually love my Win phone, and definitely warming up for Surface Pro 3. Not love yet, maybe, but in the air.