Nokia Announces CEO Transition

Nokia has officially announced a leadership transition, with Pekka Lundmark stepping down as President and CEO. His successor, Justin Hotard, will take over the role on April 1, 2025.

Hotard brings over 25 years of experience from the tech industry, having held leadership positions at Intel, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and NCR Corporation. Most recently, he led Intel’s Data Center & AI Group, which aligns with Nokia’s strategic focus on AI-driven networking and cloud-native infrastructure. He will be based at Nokia’s headquarters in Espoo, Finland.

Sari Baldauf, Chair of Nokia’s Board, expressed confidence in Hotard’s leadership, highlighting his expertise in AI and data centers as key assets for Nokia’s future growth.

Lundmark, who took over in 2020, played a crucial role in stabilizing Nokia, restoring its technology leadership in 5G, and strengthening its business in network infrastructure and patent licensing. We will also remember his role in changing the looks of Nokia and pushing the company even further from the consumer world. Lundmark will remain an advisor until the end of 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.

While this leadership change marks a new chapter for Nokia, it’s hard not to recall the last time a CEO from a U.S.-based company took the helm. In 2010, Stephen Elop arrived from Microsoft, and we all know how that played out. It all started with the Burning Memo which lead to the infamous Windows Phone experiment and eventually Nokia’s mobile division being sold to Microsoft. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.