Nokia's kallasvuo heads panel for ET awards for corporate excellence 2009

Mumbai
The Economic Times
Nokia folklore has it that in the early 1990s, when the Finnish mobile phone giant’s board was deliberating whether to set up operations in India or China, the then CFO of Nokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo insisted that it was not an either-or decision—Nokia needed both markets.

So the company set up operations in India in 1995. And the rest, as they say, is history. Today, Nokia boasts of a Rs 24,200-crore business in India with 70 percent-plus marketshare in mobile handsets. And on August 20, the 56-year-old Finn will have to take similar decisive calls.

As the chairman of the jury for the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence, he will head an eight-member grand jury that will change the lives of a chosen few in India Inc—doing no less than inducting them into India Inc’s Hall of Fame.

Kallasvuo, now president and CEO of the E51.05-billion Nokia is looking forward to the challenge. “It’s an honour. It’s also a great opportunity to meet some of the architects of the new Indian business powerhouses,” he says. “It’s a big event for me personally. India is not an emerging economy now but it’s in full bloom—taking into account the significance, the size, the importance of the nation.”

Over the years, the jury has been chaired by a range of diverse personalities - from Infosys’ NR Narayana Murthy, to HDFC’s Deepak Parekh, to Pepsico’s Indra Nooyi and ArcelorMittal’s LN Mittal. They brought their individual styles to the collective decision-making process: some were consensus builders, some wanted time-bound quick decisions, some allowed long debates and even agreed to disagree with the members. Kallasvuo sees himself as a consensus builder. “Nokia’s culture is very collaborative and equitable. But I guess, it’s also about finding the right balance,” he says.

Tata’s Corus acquisition, HCL’s Axon buy, the acquisition of LandRover and Jaguar, all of these reflect India’s growing role in the comity of nations,” he expands. The winners of The Economic Times Awards, like Infosys, Tata Steel, Bharti, HDFC Bank, Ranbaxy Laboratories and TCS have helped the India story go further and also done their bit in nation-building. Kallasvuo’s jury will take it a step further.

The ET Awards are presented by Raymond in association with Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai and the television partners are ET NOW and Times NOW.