Nokia’s Camera Guru Quits

Nokia has lost its top smartphone imaging guy.

Damian Dinning, the company’s longtime head of imaging and photography, is leaving after nearly a decade. An alumnus of Eastman Kodak and Minolta, Dinning came to Nokia in 2004 and oversaw development of the N8, the Lumia 920 and the 808 Pureview, a beast of a cameraphone with a 41-megapixel sensor. It’s not clear why he’s leaving the company — Nokia would say only that it is a “personal decision,” but according to a recent tweet, he’s got something exciting lined up for early December.

“Following the relocation of key strategic roles to Finland, and with great reluctance, Damian Dinning has made a personal decision to leave the company effective 30 November 2012,” Nokia said in a statement. “During the past nine years, [Damian] has made many innovative and valuable contributions to Nokia, most recently as a lead program manager in our Smart Devices business. We thank him for his service to the company and certainly wish him the best.”

[UPDATE: Dinning has posted a statement that he is going to Jaguar Land Rover.]