Nokia chief becomes a front runner for top job at Microsoft

When a British bookmaker installed Stephen Elop as the favourite to take over the soon-to-be vacant position of chief executive at Microsoft, most technology observers laughed it off as a publicity stunt.

But Microsoft's purchase of Nokia's handset business last week has suddenly made Elop one of the most visible candidates for the top spot at the company where he once worked.

Investors and others familiar with the board's thinking reject any suggestion the deal was done with Elop in mind - and his track record at Nokia is decidedly mixed.

But at the very least, the understated, steely Canadian will play a critical role in managing Microsoft's controversial entry into the mobile handset market and will shape the future of the software giant as it plunges headlong into the hardware business.

On paper, 49-year-old Elop fits the role. He knows broadly how Microsoft works, having spent nearly three years there running the highly profitable Office unit.

And he has just spent three years in the thick of the mobile war at Nokia.

But that is not enough time to cast him as an "insider" in the minds of many looking to shake up insular Microsoft.