Motorola chief Patel exits

Motorola’s European handset chief Vik Patel has left the company in the latest of a string of executive losses at the struggling mobile phone manufacturer. It is not clear if he has a job to go to.

It is understood that Patel was instrumental in developing a recovery programme for the company and has already planned several handset launches.

Earlier this month, Motorola appointed Sanjay Jha to head up its mobile devices division in preparation for its spin-off next year. He will also be co-chief executive of the parent company and will share responsibility with its current chief Greg Brown until the demerger.

The company’s handset division has posted heavy losses over the past few years. Patel’s departure comes just months after the departure of chief marketer Casey Keller and Stu Reed, global president for mobile devices, who left in March after just eight months. Mike Fenger, vice president for Europe, also left in March to join Apple.