Nokia CEO Kallasvuo Defies The Skeptics

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the chief executive of Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK), should have been fired by now if the many media reports predicting his ouster were true.  Yet, he is the headliner at the Nokia World trade show in London next week.

Kallasavuo’s job seems safe for now inspite of Business Insider’s efforts to help pick his replacement because he failed to make a dent in the smartphone market.   Reuters argued in April that he might be replaced to appease frustrated investors worried among other things about delays in the Symbian 3  operating system and lackluster profit growth. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that the Finnish company was in the process of replacing him.

Meanwhile, Nokia’s fortunes have slowly begun to improve.   Second quarter results were hardly stellar with a decline  in net income and a 1 percent increase in net revenue.  There were  some bright spots. Nokia shipped 111.1 million mobile handsets, up 8% year-over-year and up 3% sequentially. It also shipped 24.0 million smartphones, up 42% year-over-year and 12% sequentially.  Wall Street also has begun to see a rebound after Nokia’s margins erode because of competition from the Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and countless rivals on the low-end of the market.

Shares of the number 1 cell phone maker have risen over the past few days after Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch noted better-than-expected demand  and pricing for the  N8 smartphone,  the first using the Symbian 3.  As Bank of America noted, this means that it’s unlikely that Nokia will miss its 2010 earnings estimates.

Further helping Kellasavuo’s case are the problems at R-I-M.  Not only are some countries raising concerns about BlackBerry’s security,  but consumers are increasingly looking to ditch their device for something new. Maybe that could be the N8, which has gotten glowing reviews.

But the best thing the CEO has going for him is ethnicity.   Finland, though beautiful, is a tough sell to foreigners as a relocation destination. Not only is it bone-chilling cold in the winter, but its language is difficult to learn for non-native speakers.  Several American CEOs have apparently taken a pass on the job for that reason.

Kellasavuo should give a stirring speech at Nokia World.  He is living proof of Woody Allen’s saying that “80 percent of success is showing up.”  If keeping his job against all odds does not inspire him , I don’t know what will.

–Jonathan Berr