Finnish telecoms giant Nokia has announced that CEO Pekka Lundmark will step down on March 31. Justin Hotard, an executive from US chipmaker Intel, will replace him on April 1.

Lundmark, who has led Nokia since 2020, stated he wants to shift from executive roles to board positions.

Nokia’s chairperson, Sari Baldauf, praised his leadership and highlighted his role in strengthening Nokia’s position in 5G and cloud-native networks.

Hotard, currently Intel’s executive vice president and head of AI and data centers, has over 25 years of experience at companies like Hewlett-Packard and NCR Corporation.

He expressed excitement about leading Nokia’s transformation and emphasized the role of networks in powering AI-driven technological shifts.

After announcing job cuts in 2023 due to weak 5G equipment demand, the company reported an 89% rise in net profit for 2024, with significant sales growth in India and North America.