Nokia CTO on leave, disagreed on strategy

HELSINKI: Nokia said its chief technology officer took a leave of absence, and a Finnish newspaper said he was unlikely to return due to disagreements over the strategy of the struggling mobile phone company.

The Helsingin Sanomat report quoted unnamed sources as saying CTO Richard Green was unhappy with management decisions, including abandoning plans to launch phones based on the MeeGo operating system.

Nokia said Green was on medical leave but did not comment on the circumstances and whether he would return.

Nokia has seen its once-undisputed leadership in mobile phones challenged as it loses market share in smartphones to Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's Android devices and, at the low end, to cheaper Asian rivals.

Chief Executive Stephen Elop has said the company will strike back by switching to Microsoft Corp's software from its own Symbian platform. It also abandoned plans to launch phones based on the MeeGo operating system.

Nokia said on Tuesday mobile phone sales in the second quarter would be substantially below a previous forecast and abandoned its full-year outlook, blaming difficult conditions in China and Europe.

Copyright Reuters, 2011