The story is one of those destined to be discussed: the former CEO and current executive vice president of Nokia, the 50-year-old Canadian Stephen Elop, he would have refused to return to the Finnish company a superbonus of no less than 18,8 million euros obtained thanks to the recent sale operation to the US giant Microsoft, where moreover it is rumored that Elop will be able to take over the chair of the resigning Steve Ballmer. And all, apparently, for personal reasons: Elop is divorcing his wife Nancy, and before going to the lawyer he would not want to deprive himself of the loot.
The news was reported by Financial Times, which quotes the Finnish press: the request for the return of a prize considered excessive by many came from various politicians of the Scandinavian country, including Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen who would have formally suggested to Risto Siilasmaa, current CEO of the former world leader in mobile telephony, to ask his deputy Elop to return at least part of the sum.
However, the North American manager curtly declined the proposal, citing a reason that the Finnish premier himself described as "almost outrageous": "I can't, I'm divorcing my wife (with whom he has 5 children, ed)". Faced with this response, Nokia has preferred to avoid making statements even if the story, dubbed the "pay-off saga" by the FT, is causing a lot of scandal in Finland.
However, the new CEO Siilasmaa had already noticed this, who last Friday had first defended the exorbitant prize awarded to Elop, only to admit at the beginning of the week that in reality the former number one already had a much more profitable contract than his predecessors. All while over 32 employees, of which 5 in and around Helsinki alone, are waiting to see clearly about their future after Nokia's move to Microsoft.
