Kari Kairamo

Kari Kairamo had a master's degree in engineering (wood processing). Early on in his career, he had leading positions in several international firms in the paper industry. Nokia hired him in 1967, when it was still a major player in the forest industry, then became CEO of Nokia after Björn Westerlund retired in 1977. Kairamo's mission was to build Nokia fast into an internationally large multi-industry company, and he led several acquisitions for the company.

The late 1980s was a very special period for both the Nokia Corporation and Finland. The place Finland occupied on the map of Europe was about to change, and the cold war and protectionism in the Finnish trade politics were about to break down. Kairamo saw the importance of Nokia, the biggest company in Finland, as an agent in getting Finland closer to Western Europe, although at the same time, he considered the Soviet Union to be an important trade partner and managed to retain close relations with major Soviet politicians and business leaders.