Finland’s Nokia said today that Pekka Lundmark would step down as CEO, and that it has appointed Justin Hotard to take over his role.
Hotard, who will take up the position on April 1, is currently the executive vice president and general manager of Data Center & AI Group at Intel, according to the chipmaker’s website.
Telecom gear makers, struggling with lower sales of 5G equipment, have been looking for ways to diversify their markets and break into growing areas such as artificial intelligence.
“He has a strong track record of accelerating growth in technology companies along with vast expertise in AI and data center markets, which are critical areas for Nokia’s future growth,” Nokia’s Chair Sari Baldauf said in a statement.
Lundmark, who was appointed as Nokia’s CEO in 2020, will stay on as an advisor to Hotard until the end of the year, the company said.
In September, Nokia declined media reports saying the company was looking for a new chief executive.
“The planning for this leadership transition was initiated when Pekka indicated to the Board that he would like to consider moving on from executive roles when the repositioning of the business was in a more advanced stage, and when the right successor had been identified,” Baldauf said.
The change at the top comes after Nokia posted bumper profits as telecom companies strive to recover from a slump.
In 2023, the company announced it would cut up to 14,000 job as profits fell on weakening demand for its 5G equipment in North America.
Last month, Nokia reported an 89% rise in net profit for 2024, with sales surging in India and North America in the final three months of the year.
Baldauf said Lundmark had joined the company “at a difficult time in Nokia’s history” and would leave “with our highest respect”.
“Under his tenure, Nokia has re-established its technology leadership in 5G radio networks and built a strong position in cloud-native core networks”, she said.
