After graduating, Elop joined a
Toronto-based software development firm called Soma Inc. Soma was later acquired by
Lotus Development Corporation of
Massachusetts, United States, and Elop moved over, serving as director of consulting. In 1992 he became
CIO of
Boston Chicken, until the firm filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998.
Macromedia and Adobe In 1998 he joined
Macromedia's Web/IT department and finally as
CEO from January 2005 for three months before their acquisition by
Adobe Systems was announced in April 2005. Due to family reasons, Elop lived at his Canadian home in
Limehouse, Ontario, commuting to work in
California with
Air Canada. During Elop's tenure, Macromedia continued to deliver widely used software suites like Macromedia Studio 8. Based on the performance of the company during this time, Elop was able to guide the company through a successful acquisition that benefited shareholders. With an exchange of $3.4 billion in stock, the acquisition combined the companies’ document management, web publishing and online video delivery tools. It proved to be a profitable move for Macromedia shareholders. After the announcement of the agreement, Macromedia shares were valued at $41.86, notably above the then current market value of $33.45. It has been claimed Elop pushed
Macromedia Flash Player to get into the mobile market and he pushed
Macromedia Flash to widely used for
streaming media market until Flash was replaced by the
HTML5 in 2010s. At Macromedia, Elop was nicknamed "The General" due to his military-style haircut. He was then president of worldwide field operations at Adobe, tendering his resignation in June 2006 and leaving on 5 December. Elop was paid a $500,000 salary with $315,000 bonus and $1.88 million
severance package during his time at Adobe.
Juniper and Microsoft After leaving Adobe, Elop was
COO of
Juniper Networks for exactly one year from January 2007 – 2008. During his short tenure he drove an internal overhaul and was credited for applying operational efficiency. In late 2007 Elop was approached by
Microsoft CEO,
Steve Ballmer, with whom he met several times including chairman
Bill Gates. Juniper's stock price rose 75% throughout 2007. giving record profits for the Business Division. He became known as an operator and a change agent because of successes at Microsoft.
Businessweek credited Elop with pushing Microsoft to develop
cloud-based versions of the company's programs, and asserted that this helped Microsoft maintain its dominance, while holding off startups looking to disrupt its traditional business model. Also during his tenure as president, the Business Division formed an alliance with
Nokia on 12 August 2009 to bring
Microsoft Office Mobile to
Symbian OS.
CEO of Nokia On 10 September 2010, it was announced that Elop would become Nokia's CEO, replacing the dismissed
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, and becoming the first non-Finnish director in Nokia's history. Nokia's chairman
Jorma Ollila commented: "Stephen has the right industry experience and leadership skills." Some analysts predicted closer Nokia and Microsoft cooperation following Elop's debut. His tenure began on 21 September. His family stayed in Canada. At the time of Elop's appointment, Nokia had been struggling in the face of increasing competition. The company's overall mobile phone market share in Q3 2010 was 28.2 percent, its lowest share since 1999, and a decline of 8.5 percent compared to the same quarter in 2009. On his first day as CEO, Nokia also announced yet another delay of the release of its flagship, the
Nokia N8. On his first day of work as CEO, Elop e-mailed every Nokia employee asking what changes they like to see at Nokia and what they do not. Elop was open to the employees and gave them the chance to voice their opinions - unusual for Nokia under his bureaucratic predecessors and chairman. Elop approached employees with his personal stories of "At Microsoft we beat Google [referring to Microsoft Office and
Google Apps]. We can beat Apple just as well." In 2010 Q4, Elop started the Project Sea Eagle. One task of the Project Sea Eagle was to estimate outsourcing the mobile operating system, including
Android and
Windows Phone. Later, because of intellectual property and patent conflicts, such as
Google Play and
Nokia Ovi (especially
Google Maps and
Nokia Here), Elop refused Google and Android. During Elop's tenure (2010 to 2014), Nokia's stock price dropped 62%, their mobile phone market share was halved, their smartphone market share fell from 33% to 3%, and the company suffered a cumulative €4.9 billion loss.
"Burning Platform" memo Sometime in early 2011, Elop issued a company internal memo titled "Burning Platform", which was leaked to the press. The memo likened Nokia's situation in the
smartphone market to a person standing on a burning
oil platform ("
platform" being a reference to the name given to
operating systems such as
Symbian, Apple
iOS and Google
Android). It also mentions the introduction to a "new strategy" on 11 February. Elop stresses in the memo how significantly the market has changed: The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem. The memo was not intended for the public but was eventually leaked by
Engadget on 8 February 2011, becoming widely circulated and receiving a large deal of attention. The "new strategy" bit highly speculated to tech bloggers that Nokia would form an alliance with Microsoft, particularly after Google's
Vic Gundotra tweeted "Two turkeys do not make an Eagle" shortly after the leak. It was then reported that Nokia's VP Anssi Vanjoki originally said this quote in 2005 about
BenQ's purchase of
Siemens's mobile phone business. The memo was seen by some in the media as a necessary wake-up call for Nokia, and
Engadget called it "one of the most exciting" CEO memos they have seen. However Nokia's Board of Directors saw the memo as an act of misjudgment and Chairman
Jorma Ollila bitterly criticized it at a board meeting. This leaked memo (along with the new strategy two days later) led to the term "Elop effect" being used by opponents of the strategy. The term was coined by former Nokia executive Tomi Ahonen, who said it "combines the
Ratner effect with the
Osborne effect", meaning both publicly attacking one's own products and promising a successor to a current product too long before it is available. In an interview with the
Financial Post, Elop described the memo as "a very powerful statement of the reality of the situation without a lot of marketing polish on it." The final decision of a partnership with Microsoft was made the night before the conference. Questioned on why he decided to go with Windows Phone rather than choosing Android, Elop said: "The fundamental thing we were looking at was the ability to differentiate. As a member of the Android ecosystem, there were ways that we could see that we could differentiate, but we were worried over time how much differentiation we could continue to maintain or extend." inspired by his previous success at Macromedia by putting all focus on
Flash in the early 2000s. From Q3 2010 to Q3 2011, Nokia's smartphone sales had steeply declined by 34 percent, from 27.2 million units to 16.8 million. In the next year-on-year results, and following the release of its first Windows Phones, its smartphone sales had declined by more than half, from 16.8 million to 6.3 million units. On Q2 2012, Nokia announced
Lumia 900, but Microsoft later announce the new
Windows Phone 8 will not support all Windows Phone 7 devices because of kernel changes in June 2012, without pre-notify Nokia. In an interview held late 2012, Elop stated the reason for switching to Windows instead of Android: "the single most important word is 'differentiation'. Entering the Android environment late, we knew we would have a hard time differentiating." When asked if he regretted this choice in 2013, Elop said "What we were worried about a couple of years ago was the very high risk that one hardware manufacturer could come to dominate Android" thanks to vertical integration, and pointing out "Now fast forward to today and examine the Android ecosystem, and there's a lot of good devices from many different companies, but one company [Samsung] has essentially now become the dominant player". Elop noted that Nokia was well behind and would have to play catch up to Samsung, saying "we were respectful of the fact that we were quite late in making that decision. Many others were in that space already". Elop also justified Windows Phone as giving Nokia a chance to market itself as an alternative to Apple and Samsung. In another interview in 2013, Elop implied that
Samsung Electronics would have been dominant in the Android space, leaving no space for other OEMs. A journalist from
The Guardian agreed, noting
HTC's decline in revenue. However, later on Nokia would begin reweighing its options and at
Mobile World Congress held in February 2014 Stephen Elop took stage to unveil Nokia's first Android Phone,
Nokia X. Following the launch of the
Nokia Lumia 920 flagship and its positive reception and apparent strong sales, Elop said to an
Yle newscaster in December 2012: "...if you think about the last year, it's been a very difficult year. We've made many difficult decisions, we've made changes. But what we've also been doing is our very best work in making great products and getting them to consumers. So whether it's the Lumia 920, whether it is your Asha Full Touch products - the people of Nokia are doing their best work, but what's happening now, is that it's not us saying that, it's the people around the world. Our employees are feeling that, [...] so that creates a sense of hope and optimism. Now at the same time, we know we have a lot of hard work still had [...] but there's that sense that the hard work, that that seesaw has really begun to pay off. You feel that in the company." He also thanked the Finnish shareholders for supporting Nokia during its "darkest days." The company's best-selling model was the
Nokia Lumia 520, although as a budget class product it suggested that Nokia continued to struggle in the high-end market, despite positive reception of the award winning
Nokia Lumia 1020 cameraphone.
Criticism and reputation During his tenure, Elop faced vocal criticism from both industry specialists and employees. In 2011, Elop announced that some 11,000 employees would have to be laid off as part of a plan to "restructure" Nokia's business, and in June 2012 it was announced that further 10,000 layoffs were in order and that several facilities would have to be closed down due to budget cuts. Some critics, especially in Finland, started to speculate that Elop could be a
trojan horse, whose mission was to prepare Nokia for a future acquisition by Microsoft. When confronted with the theory by an anonymous attendee of the 2011
Mobile World Congress, Elop denied the speculation stating, "The obvious answer is, no. But however, I am very sensitive to the perception and awkwardness of that situation. We made sure that the entire management team was involved in the process [...] Everyone on the management team believed this was the right decision," referring to Nokia's adoption of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. Elop denied the accusations again in an interview in 2014. In the book
The Decline and Fall of Nokia published in 2014, author David J. Cord firmly rejects the idea that Elop was a Trojan Horse. He claims that all of Elop's decisions were logical when they were made, and he also cites the testimony of other Nokia executives who were part of those decision-making processes. Another book published later in 2014 called
Operation Elop also refutes the Trojan Horse claims. Its Finnish authors, journalists from
Kauppalehti, noted that Elop "made monumental mistakes - but all in good faith."
Acquisition by Microsoft In May 2013, after the two years that he had been granted for the transition to the Windows Phone platform, Elop was pressed by Nokia's shareholders about the lack of results compared to the competitors and the insufficient sales figures to secure the company's survival. During the annual general meeting, several shareholders voiced that they were running out of patience with Elop's efforts in putting Nokia back to the smartphone race. Elop replied that there was no turning back on his decision of adopting Windows Phone, while some analysts criticized Elop for closing doors to alternative strategies and going all-in with Microsoft's operating system. Some analysts speculated that Nokia had already lost the smartphone race to Samsung and Apple, and that if they were to regain their position in the market, it would have to be by means of low-end devices such as the
Asha. In June 2013, it was reported that Microsoft had been to advanced talks for buying Nokia, but the negotiations had faltered over price and worries about Nokia's slumping market position. As of June 2013, Nokia's mobile phone market share had fallen from 23% to 15%, their smartphone market share gone from 32.6% to 3.3%, and their stock value dropped by 85% since Elop's takeover. On 3 September 2013, it was announced that Microsoft had agreed to buy Nokia's mobile phone and devices business for 5.4 billion euros (US$7.2bn; £4.6bn) and that Elop would stand down as Nokia's CEO to become Executive Vice President of the Microsoft Devices Group business unit. On the day's press conference, Elop said Nokia had much to be proud of, saying "We have transitioned through a period of incredible difficulty and we are now delivering the best products we have ever delivered, while simultaneously having changed our culture and the way we work." He also said he felt sadness as it changes what Nokia stands for, but added that Nokia products will become an even stronger competitor together with Microsoft. Elop was said to bring a unique set of skills back to Microsoft, given his varied leadership experience and proven ability to manage products and divisions at the company (i.e. Microsoft Office). After Elop stepped down as CEO of Nokia,
Risto Siilasmaa replaced him as interim CEO before the appointment of
Rajeev Suri. Nokia's devices and services business would ultimately become
Microsoft Mobile on 25 April 2014. Despite Nokia's major decline in market share, it continued to be the second largest mobile phone manufacturer overall at the time of the Microsoft sale completion in 2014. This was mostly from sales of its basic
feature phones: specifically in the high-profit and competitive smartphone market, Nokia did not make the top eight list of manufacturers.
Bonus controversy Controversy arose around Elop receiving a €18.8 million bonus after Nokia sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft and he stepped down as the CEO. The controversy was further fueled after it was revealed that his contract had been revised on the same day as the deal was announced. Moreover, the chairman of Nokia's Board of Directors gave initially incorrect information about the contract to the public, and had to correct his statements later. Shortly before his departure from Nokia, Elop had filed for divorce, which he also cited as a reason to reject a renegotiation of the controversial bonus. He claimed he couldn't afford a reduction of the payoff because his wife would demand half of it. Elop also enjoyed a preferential tax status in Finland, a 35% fixed-rate income tax irrespective of the size of income, while typical tax payers in Finland pay a
progressive income tax. Approximately 70% of the bonus costs were absorbed by Microsoft during the acquisition, the majority of which came in the form of accelerated stock awards. Criticism spread to politics, with Prime Minister of Finland
Jyrki Katainen telling Finnish television that the payoff was "quite outrageous", and that it cannot be justified given the country's difficult economic times.
Jutta Urpilainen, the minister of finance, wrote on her blog "In addition to the general toxic atmosphere, it [the payoff] may be a threat to social harmony". Some Nokia employees and investors also shared concerns.
Falsely reported quote A quote has been attributed to Elop by some online sources claiming that he said, at the end of his speech to the Nokia board following the Microsoft acquisition: "''we didn't do anything wrong, but somehow we lost''". The claim also mentions that the quote was followed by emotional "tears" from Elop and other Nokia executives who were present. However,
Microsoft Azure architect Clemens Vasters published an article on
LinkedIn claiming that this is
fake and "nonsense", citing the full press conference video that is publicly available on YouTube that does not feature the quote or emotions.
Microsoft Devices Group In 2014, Elop returned to Microsoft as executive vice president of the
Microsoft Devices Group. From that point, Elop focused on the team's “mandate to help people do more” and the
Microsoft Band, and the spin out of Nokia
MixRadio to Japan's
Line Corporation. On 17 June 2015, Elop was laid off from his position at Microsoft as part of massive job cuts in the Microsoft Devices Group. According to Microsoft CEO
Satya Nadella, "Stephen and I have agreed that now is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft. I regret the loss of leadership that this represents, and look forward to seeing where his next destination will be."
Telstra On 16 March 2016, Australia's largest telecommunications provider
Telstra announced that Elop would be joining the company in a newly created position as Group Executive Technology, Innovation and Strategy. In his first speech at a Telstra conference in September 2016, Elop cited Nokia as an example of a "great" company that can self-assess and "transform" when necessary, referencing its success as a networks equipment supplier. Elop was dismissed from Telstra as part of its restructuring on 31 July 2018.
APiJET On 17 September 2019, APiJET, a Seattle-based joint venture of
Aviation Partners, Inc. and iJet Technologies which makes real-time aircraft data analytics, announced that Elop had been named its CEO. As of January 2021, Stephen Elop has terminated his assignment as CEO to APiJET, serves on the APiJET board and is senior advisor to APiJET.
Nintex As of December 2025, Stephen Elop can be found as the Acting CEO / Chairman of the Board of Nintex. This is after current Nintex CEO Amit Mathradas announced that he’s leaving to take the helm of Five9 beginning on February 2 2026. Mathradas has led Nintex, a Bellevue, Wash.-based workflow automation company, for nearly three years. ==Personal life==