Dorothy Ooko , Nokia's former Communications Manager for East and Southern Africa has left the firm after an almost 5 year stint. Ooko made the announcement yesterday in an e-mail circulated to some stakeholders in the ICT sector. Nokia is yet to acknowledge her departure, though she was prominently missing at Nokia's monthly Happy Hour bloggers meet up held on Thursday night in Nairobi.
Ooko did not announce where she was headed, promising to "send her new work email as soon as she got it. " Industry sources indicate that Ooko is headed for Google in a yet to be disclosed position. Ooko also hinted in her email stating "I am still privileged that l will be able to continue doing what l am passionate about in a different company and serving the people of Africa."

Ooko has made quite some accomplishments at Nokia, assisting the firm to come up with localised strategies and a strong marketing communication strategy that has seen the firm maintain most of its market share despite increased onslaught from Samsung, low end Mediatek based devices (Tecno) and low cost Anrdoid smartphones. Such strategies include the "Nokia Dabodabo" tag that the firm has used to successfuly market its new dual sim entrants in the East African market. Reports from Nokia say the dual sim handsets had exceeded expectations.

Dorothy was previous a member of faculty at the United States International University (USIU). She holds a Masters in Business Administration, Strategic Business Management from USIU.

Google has recently been shoring up its talent in the region, and notably in Kenya with recent hires drawn from across the industry including Safaricom and the Kenya ICT Board.