Nokia's CEO might become the scapegoat

WSJ is usually pretty good at publishing rumors that become true later on. The latest news from Nokia camp are that the board of directors will be deciding on the fate of their CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo by the end of the month.

His tenure as a head of Nokia has been plagued by the introduction of contemporary mobile operating systems like iOS and Android, and the proliferation of touchscreen devices. Back in 2007, as we recall, when the iPhone got introduced, Nokia was still arguing that according to their customer surveys, people don't want touchscreens, so they don't plan on producing such devices. Three years later, touchscreens are the norm on high-end, high-profit-margin handsets, and Nokia's earliest chance of success in that market is the still unreleased N8. In 2007, Nokia was the world's cell phone leader by a much larger margin than now, when Apple's quarterly profit from just the iPhone is larger than Nokia's with half a billion dollars.

This has resulted in revised quarterly numbers, and Nokia's stock plummeting more than 42% since April. The word on the street is that at least one CEO of a US high-tech company has turned down Nokia's advances, and another one is in talks with the Finnish company to take over after Mr. Kallasvuo. Nokia is trying to turn the tide after promoting Anssi Vanjoki as head of their newly-minted mobile division, who wants the company to change course quickly. A new captain at the wheel might be just what the doctor ordered for Nokia.

Nokia N8 Specifications

source: WSJ via SlashGear

$5/mo off for 5 years on Visible premium plans

$30 /mo

$35

New members get $5/mo off the $35/mo Visible+ plan or $5/mo off the $45/mo Visible+ Pro plan for the first 60 months when they port-in from an eligible carrier. Use code 5OFF5 at checkout to save up to $300.

Expired