Nokia Welcomes Justin Hotard as CEO – Leading the AI-Powered Future!

Finland’s Nokia announced that its current CEO, Pekka Lundmark, will step down. Justin Hotard will take over as the new CEO on April 1.

Hotard currently works at Intel as the head of the Data Center & AI Group. Nokia believes his experience in artificial intelligence and data centers will help the company grow in new areas.

Telecom companies like Nokia have been feeling the heat as demand for 5G equipment slows down. To stay ahead of the game, they’re now setting their sights on new opportunities—especially in the booming world of AI.

Nokia’s chair, Sari Baldauf, said Hotard has a strong history of helping technology companies grow and is the right choice for the company’s future.

Lundmark became Nokia’s CEO in 2020. He will stay on as an advisor to Hotard until the end of the year.

Last September, Nokia denied rumors that it was searching for a new CEO. However, the company now says that Lundmark had informed the board that he wanted to step down once Nokia’s business transformation was more advanced and a suitable replacement was found.