McMaster grad named president of Nokia

Ancaster native Stephen Elop is the new president and CEO of Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone company.

The Finnish-based Nokia named Elop as the company’s first foreign-born president in a Sept. 10 news conference.

Nokia’s stock has slumped this year, with losses of more than 20 per cent due to two profit warnings.

Elop’s appointment comes as a surprise to many in Finland, where the Nokia name is a national icon. 

Jouko Juonala, a staff reporter for Finnish daily newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, said the country is looking to Elop to revive Nokia’s sagging fortunes.
“We certainly hope here in Finland that he’ll get the company back to its former glory,” said Juonala in an email.

A former president of the Microsoft Business Division, Elop takes the reins on Sept. 21, replacing long-time president Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

Elop graduated from the McMaster University engineering and management program in 1986. Dr. David Capson, the current chair of McMaster’s electrical and computer engineering department, remembers Elop as an outstanding student.

“There are few names that stand out,” said Capson. “He’s one of them.”

Capson said Elop had a keen interest in computer networks and spent at least one summer working to install network cables in the McMaster engineering building.

In May, 2007 the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster honoured Elop with the L. W. Shemilt Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award at the annual Faculty of Engineering Applause and Accolades ceremony.