Elop confirmed as executive VP of Microsoft Devices Group

Former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will become executive vice president of Microsoft Devices Group on completion of the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, Satya Nadella, the recently-installed CEO of Microsoft, confirmed.

Elop became Nokia’s executive VP of Devices & Services following the announcement in September last year that Microsoft had agreed to acquire that part of the Finnish firm’s operations for €5.4 billion (US$7.4 billion). The deal is expected to close by the end of April.

Nadella and Elop have already been working on the initial stages of integration planning for when the Nokia unit becomes part of Microsoft. The pair also worked together during Elop’s stint as Nokia CEO and when the Canadian headed Microsoft’s business division prior to that.

When Nadella’s appointment as CEO was announced in February, he told the company’s employees that their job “is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world”.