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Former Nokia CEO to oversee Xbox division

by on26 February 2014

Stephen Elop likely is bad news for gamers

In a move that actually comes as some surprise, Julie Larson-Green will move on from her role as the head of the Devices and Studios division at Microsoft to be replaced by former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. Larson-Green will head up the My Life and Work team which is part of the Application and Services Group at Microsoft.

Elop spent three years as the CEO of Nokia and once Microsoft announced it was buying Nokia, he was at least in the running to become the new Microsoft CEO, but that post went to Satya Nadella as we know. Elop does not really fit the mold of what gamers might like in a CEO and insiders claim that he favored Microsoft selling off or spinning of the Xbox division. Not the kind of news that instills confidence.

We can think of a lot of people that would be a much better fit than Elop, but given the continued mis-steps lately by Microsoft’s Xbox division since the announcement of the Xbox One, did we really expect anything less. We could be wrong and maybe this Canadian is a hardcore gamer down deep inside, but besides being a recreational pilot and having five kids has past does not reveal ties to the video game industry. He has worked for a number of companies including Macromedia, Adobe, Juniper Networks, and now a second tour at Microsoft.

One bad sign is that I can’t find a picture of him without a suit and a tie. That alone can’t be good for gamers.

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