Stephen Elop

President and CEO
Nokia

Stephen Elop joined Nokia as president and chief executive officer as of Sept. 21, 2010. He joined the company’s board of Directors in May 2011. Previously, Elop served as president of Microsoft’s Business Division, and was a member of Microsoft’s senior leadership team responsible for overall strategy. Before that, he was chief operating officer of Juniper Networks, a leading provider of high-performance network infrastructure; he also served as president of worldwide field operations of Adobe Systems Inc., which he joined following the 2005 acquisition of Macromedia Inc., where he was president and CEO.

He grew up in Ancaster, Canada, and earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University, where he was subsequently awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In his spare time, he enjoys his family and the many sports pursued by his five children.

Elop’s first mobile "phone" was a fake antenna that attached to his old Subaru that made it look like he had a phone. (His first real cellphone was a pocket-able Nokia.) He knows Morse code, thanks to his grandfather, who was a HAM radio operator in Canada — he was also one of the people who inspired Elop’s love of technology.