Justin Hotard is President and CEO of Nokia. Since taking the role in April 2025, he has led the company’s transformation to focus on the next era of intelligent connectivity – building the trusted networks that will enable the AI-driven economy.

Under his leadership, Nokia launched a strategic partnership with NVIDIA, including a $1 billion investment to Nokia to accelerate AI-RAN innovation and the transition from 5G to 6G. This collaboration is fundamentally redesigning networks to deliver AI-powered connectivity - opening a high-growth frontier for telecom providers. He has also driven major customer partnerships with Vodafone Three and Nscale that strengthen Nokia’s position in AI-powered connectivity.

Justin’s “future-back” approach – starting from the intelligent, interconnected world we aim to build and designing backward from that vision – is reshaping how Nokia innovates, collaborates, and competes.

A vocal advocate for Europe’s technological competitiveness and sovereignty in the AI era, he promotes a balanced model of global collaboration and responsible innovation – one that advances secure, transparent, and energy-efficient digital infrastructure. He believes the true potential of AI lies not only in algorithms but in cognitive networks that sense, learn, and adapt in real time.

Justin also focuses on cybersecurity dimensions of AI, promoting partnerships that strengthen competitiveness and supporting cyber defences against AI-powered threats through Nokia’s suite of cybersecurity solutions.

Before joining Nokia, Justin held senior leadership roles at Intel and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he led global businesses spanning Data Centers, AI, and High-Performance Computing. Known for combining technological vision with operational precision, he is recognized as a transformative leader who believes innovation must serve progress, purpose, and people.