The newspaper bases its story on two different sources who say that the Finnish phone maker plans to nominate Siilasmaa to its board's top spot. Siilasmaa refused to comment on the story when contacted by YLE.
"It's quite logical that Risto is going to be the chairman because he knows Nokia and he knows the software industry. The future in mobile phones will be software focused. He has the suitable background for the job," senior industry analyst Hannu Rauhala of Pohjola Bank told YLE News.
Last May Ollila, who led the company in its glory days, announced plans to step down. Ollila, also chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, was supposed to leave Nokia in the spring of 2010, but he was convinced to stay on to shepherd the company through hard times.
Nokia’s Annual General Meeting convening in May will formally elect the new board of directors. The board is expected to publish its list of candidates on January 26 following the release of Nokia’s Q4 2011 results.
