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Former Nokia exec says Nokia's in trouble, Elop is to blame

Losing money, senior talent, and cash cow Symbian OS was the wrong move, a former Nokia executive tells CNET UK.

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Nokia Lumia 900
If Nokia's Windows Phone gamble fails, what next? Josh Miller/ CNET

Here in the U.S., the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows phone has sold better than Nokia expected, but significant profit loss elsewhere has led to some vocal -- and colorful -- opinions from a former Nokia executive.

Speaking exclusively to CNET UK, Lee Williams, who served as Nokia's senior vice president of Symbian Series 60 OS from 2006 to 2009, paints a portrait of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as a cost-slashing leader who lacks long-term vision.

Williams goes even further to accuse Elop of sacrificing Nokia's fat and healthy cash cow -- Symbian -- for the chance at "US cultural magic," at the expense of the company's Finnish identity.

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In one tidbit:

"Elop is operating like a CFO [chief financial officer] -- CFOs are very practical, always looking at costs, always internally focused...I don't think he's really projecting anything forward or sitting around with his team imaging what the future looks like. I think it's 's**t how do I get rid of a third of this overhead in R&D?.'"

You can read the full interview at CNET UK.

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