KP Wilska

Despite a sagging handset market, Nokia beat first-quarter expectations and managed to maintain its lead position. But realizing it is not immune to the effects of a slowing economy, the company — to some analysts' chagrin — cut its sales-growth outlook for the year by 20%.

Unlike its main competitor, Ericsson, Nokia was not stunted by the economic environment and reported a 6% increase in earnings from the previous year. Despite the positive results, however, Nokia now expects sales to grow just 20% after originally indicating that they could reach between 25% and 35%.

“This is where experience helps,” says KP Wilska, president of Nokia's Americas division. “In any industry there are economic cycles. This industry is changing so rapidly that you have to renew yourself rapidly.”

Wilska, one of the founders of Nokia's mobile phone unit, began his career working for Nokia in Finland but was sent to the U.S. in 1993 because the market was accelerating. He has headed the company's Americas operations, which focus on North and South America, for the past 18 months.

And it may be Nokia's forward-looking approach that has elevated the company to its current market position. When it comes to execution, Nokia's quarterly results proved that those in the mobile phone industry that can accurately predict market trends will be more successful than those that simply respond to change. “If there were any questions regarding which company really understands the handset market, Nokia's results in the quarter should put these to rest,” says a recent UBS Warburg report.

Wilska has a lot of work ahead of him. Nokia anticipates additional growth in the Americas. In addition to leading the mobile-handset space, the company predicts it will steal market share from Ericsson in the next-generation and third-generation mobile systems space.

Although NTT DoCoMo has decided it will not offer commercial 3G service until October after promising it would do so at the end of May, Wilska is not concerned about his company's focus on the 3G infrastructure market. “This has worried a lot of people in the industry, but in my mind it is expected that there always will be hiccups in the beginning of something new,” he says.

The company is confident that a strong focus on GSM, which continues to gain ground beyond Europe, will help it reach its network growth goal. In addition, a constant focus on each area of its business ensures that its technology stays on track with in an unpredictable industry.

“We always have had a focus on our different business segments or product groups and have people who really know a particular segment, which keeps them responsible,” Wilska says. “We have a good focus on business elements, and we work with open minds. This is what carries us forward.”

Nokia foresees gaining a 40% market share in the global mobile phone market in the next few quarters and anticipates reaching a global market volume outlook of 450 million to 500 million units for 2001. “Having good brand recognition helps in a situation where people are uncertain,” Wilska says. “We have partnerships and share information and views with carriers.”