The Future of Nokia with its New CEO: Justin Hotard
Today, Justin Hotard begins his tenure as Nokia's new Chief Executive Officer.
He joins during an important time for the telecommunications industry, as network providers face mounting pressure to deliver high levels of performance, security and reliability in the wake of technology’s evolution.
Meanwhile, cloud hyperscalers and technology companies continue their aggressive expansion into telecommunications territory, blurring traditional industry boundaries and intensifying competition for Nokia and its peers.
Yet this is where Justin comes in – bringing specialised expertise in AI and data centre technologies to Nokia from his time at Intel, where he led the company's Data Centre and AI Group.
This means that his experience and skillset is set to give Nokia a unique advantage in the telco market – and he outlines his strategy in his first address to Nokia employees.
How technology’s evolution has changed Nokia’s strategy
Justin’s appointment was announced in February when then-Chief Executive Officer, Pekka Lundmark, decided to step down after nearly five years at the helm.
During Pekka's tenure, which began in 2020, Nokia rebounded from earlier challenges and demonstrated strong growth, including a 9% increase in the final quarter of 2024 – reported as the company's best quarterly margin in a decade.
Now, as technology has adapted, Nokia is intent to position itself more at the intersection of telecommunications and computing – a space increasingly dominated by AI-driven applications that demand sophisticated network capabilities.
“What's always inspired me about being in technology from my early days, as an engineering student, is the positive impact that we have on humanity,” Justin says.
Justin prepares Nokia for “AI Supercycle” with network infrastructure focus
Justin has identified AI as a central opportunity for Nokia, describing it as an “AI supercycle.”
“The AI supercycle is presenting tremendous growth opportunities,” he says.
“First in Network Infrastructure, we are seeing massive early demand in the AI supercycle, for data centre builds.”
This focus on network infrastructures shows the increasing demands that AI applications place on data centres – being facilities that require high-performance computing capabilities and robust connectivity solutions to process the vast amounts of data needed for AI systems to function effectively.
To help Nokia navigate these challenges, Justin brings over two decades of experience to the role, with expertise in high-performance computing and AI innovations – areas that Nokia's board considers critical for the company's future growth trajectory.
Furthermore, before his time at Intel, which he joined in January 2024, Justin also held significant positions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and NCR Corporation.
Sari Baldauf, Chair of Nokia's Board of Directors, expressed confidence in Justin's appointment, saying his “strong track record of accelerating growth in technology companies along with vast expertise in AI and data centre markets, which are critical areas for Nokia’s future growth.”
Nokia’s growth opportunities in communication service providers and enterprise markets
Justin believes this technological shift will drive transformation among Nokia's core customers, Communication Service Providers (CSPs).
“I believe in our Communication Server Provider market, our core CSP customers are also going to transform," he says.
“We saw this transformation in the internet era when they went from voice to data – and that means there's a great opportunity for our fixed infrastructure but more importantly for our Mobile Networks and Cloud and Network Services businesses.
“Beyond our core markets, there's a great emerging opportunity, in areas like defence and the enterprise and edge – and that's because connectivity is no longer an option,” he continues.
“AI, robotics, agentic AI – these are all creating new demands on secure, reliable connectivity.”
Justin’s vision for Nokia’s future
Justin emphasises the importance of Nokia's culture in achieving the company's strategic objectives as it faces competition.
“Great teams are not built because everybody has a unique skill, great teams are built because the complimentary skills of a collective team outperforms what any one individual could deliver,” he says.
“For companies to win in a time period like today, when the pace of innovation is so fast, it's critical that companies not only reinvent themselves, but stay focused – and what I mean by that is focused on their core technology, their core innovation, their core value-add for their customers.”
Justin describes himself as a “techno-optimist” but also emphasises the need to balance technological advancement with human needs and shareholder returns.
“I'm most excited about joining Nokia to help lead the company to its next chapter,” he says.
“We've got tremendous assets, tremendous technology – but it's also about making sure we maximise the opportunity in front of us with the market – and I believe we have a great team to build that next chapter and next story.”
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