Former Nokia CEO and Microsoft exec Stephen Elop hired as technology head at Telstra

Several months after leaving Microsoft as its head of hardware, Stephen Elop has found a new gig. Elop, who was also the CEO of Nokia, has been hired by Australia-based telecommunications company Telstra for the newly created role of Group Executive Technology, Innovation and Strategy.

In a press release, (via Neowin), Telstra says that Elop will help it "become a world class technology company". Elop will officially start working at Telstra on April 4.

After working previously at executive positions at Adobe, Macromedia and Juniper Networks, Elop joined Microsoft in 2008 as the head of its business division. In 2010 he was selected as the CEO of Nokia and in 2011 announced that the company would support Windows Phone for its smartphones instead of Nokia's own Symbian OS. The result was the Lumia line of devices that was first released by Nokia in the fall of 2011.

In 2014, Microsoft acquired Nokia's Devices and Services division and Elop returned to the company as executive vice president of the Microsoft Devices Group. In June 2015, Elop departed Microsoft as part of the company's plans to cut back on its mobile phone efforts.