The bloke tasked with bringing the Nokia phone division back from the dead has surprised everyone by quitting.
Ramzi Haidamus is stepping down as president of Nokia Technologies just as it appeared the outfit was returning to the days when it made mobile phones and before it sold its soul and assets to Microsoft.
Haidamus had only been doing the job for two years in the role and most of his work was focused on patents and new consumer products, including a recent licensing deal with HMD Global it hoped would herald the return of Nokia handsets.
Nokia was wrong-footed by the rise of smartphones and eclipsed by Apple and Samsung, ultimately resulting in the sale of its handset business to Microsoft Corp in 2014.
While the company has been making a bomb on telecoms network equipment, it is an industry with weak growth outlook, and the small Nokia Technologies operation has been leading the return to consumer products in search of future growth.
The company started selling a virtual reality camera this year and also acquired a French health-tracking company Withings. Haidamus claims his job was done and it was the right time for him to explore new opportunities to pursue his passion for "building and transforming businesses".
Nokia said it has begun the search for a successor and that Brad Rodrigues, currently head of strategy and business development at Nokia Technologies, will assume the role of acting president.
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