Last week Nokia chair Risto Siilasmaa said that Stephen Elop’s contract was “substantially the same as previous Nokia chief executives’”. Helsingin Sanomat is now reporting that Nokia’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that to be false.
Elop’s predecessor Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo’s contract contained very different conditions relating to financial compensation if part of the company was sold. His bonus for completing a similar deal would have been 14.6 million euros smaller than Elop’s. The Canadian’s contract was negotiated and signed off by then-chair of the Nokia board, Jorma Ollila.
Siilasmaa described his previous statement as an “accident”.
Elop’s 18.8 million euro payout for selling Nokia’s devices and services unit to Microsoft has raised considerable disquiet in Finland. Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen have led the criticism.
