HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kari Antero Oswald Kairamo, titled '' Vuorineuvos'' (31 December 1932, in
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
– 11 December 1988, in
Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärv ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
), was a Chairman and CEO of
Nokia Corporation Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
and a significant and popular person in the industry, who was also actively involved in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
's foreign policy.


Biography


Career

Kari Kairamo had a master's degree in engineering (
wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wood pro ...
). 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. In 1977, Kairamo became CEO of Nokia after Björn Westerlund retired. Kairamo's mission was to build Nokia fast into an internationally large multi-industry company, and he led several courageous
acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
for the company. The late 1980s was a very special period of time both for the Nokia Corporation and for Finland. The place Finland occupied on the map of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
was about to change, and cold war and protectionism in the Finnish trade politics was about to break down. Kairamo saw the importance of Nokia, the biggest company in Finland, as a major agent in getting Finland closer to Western Europe, although at the same time he considered the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
to be an important trade partner and managed to retain close relations with major Soviet politicians and business leaders.


Death

Kari Kairamo committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
by hanging himself in his home on 11 December 1988, an act which Nokia at first attempted to hide. He had an endless amount of energy and a stunning work efficiency. Suffering from
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...
is also a commonly suspected reason for his tragic decision. As he was part of the Kihlman family, famous for their artists, some people close to the family suspect he was manic-depressive like many great artists.


References

1932 births 1988 deaths Businesspeople from Helsinki Nokia people Suicides by hanging in Finland 20th-century Finnish businesspeople {{Finland-bio-stub