Rajeev Suri, CEO of NSN, and Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia’s CFO, are among those vying to head the Finnish company, according to Bloomberg.

The focus is on internal candidates as Nokia’s next CEO although outsiders have also been considered.

The announcement of the successor to Stephen Elop is more likely after the sale of Nokia’s handset business to Microsoft has been completed, which is expected in the first quarter of 2014.

Mobile World Live approached Nokia but the company declined to comment on the state of its CEO search.

Choice of CEO is tied to the structure of the new Nokia. One model is to position NSN as central to the company’s strategy. Alternatively, Nokia could act as a holding company with NSN, maps and advanced technologies units reporting on an equal basis to the new head.

The choice of CEO will signal choice of strategy, according to Richard Windsor, analyst with Radio Free Mobile.

“If Rajeev gets it, it’s a signal that Nokia becomes NSN,” said Windsor. “If Timo gets it, it’s a sign Nokia becomes a holding company.”

There would be an irony if Suri bags the top job at Nokia, given almost exactly two years ago NSN was forced to deny it was looking for a replacement. The company was struggling to engineer a turnaround.