Former CEO of Nokia, Stephen Elop, refuses to give up all or at least part of his €18.8 million ($25.4 million) payout after the sale of the mobile division of the Finnish group to Microsoft, arguing that he is in the process of divorcing his wife.
Sources close to Nokia said that with the growth of the pressures over the weekend from Finnish politicians, including the prime minister, the president of Nokia, Risto Siilasmaa, asked Elop if he is willing to accept a reduced compensation package.
According to a source close to the situation and to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Elop told Siilasmaa that he can not give up the payout, citing an issue with his upcoming divorce.
Nokia said that it does not comment on the issue.
Nokia’s Board and Elop are under scrutiny from media and the public in Finland because of the large financial package for the former CEO. Elop ‘s criticism reached a climax on Saturday when Prime Minister, Jyrki Katainen, said the compensation for the former CEO is “scandalous.”
President of Nokia, who defended on Friday the amount awarded to Elop in a statement, was forced to admit this week that he misled the public claiming that Elop has a contract similar to those of his predecessors.
Microsoft, which is taking over operations of Nokia mobile phone division for €5.44 billion and is the former and future Elop’s employer, pays 70% of the financial package of €18.8 million.
According to the contract with Microsoft, Elop resigned as CEO of Nokia, and will lead the division of mobile phones in the U.S. group. Before coming to the helm of Nokia, Elop served as vice president of the U.S. software maker, in charge with the Microsoft Office division.
Elop is considered the leading candidate to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft. Ballmer announced in August that he would retire from office within 12 months.
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