HELSINKI, Feb 10, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Finnish telecommunications equipment giant Nokia announced on Monday that chief executive Pekka Lundmark would step down and be replaced by Justin Hotard, the head of AI and data centres at US chip-maker Intel.

Lundmark, who has served as Nokia's CEO since 2020, will leave his position on March 31, the company said in a statement.

Lundmark "decided to step down from executive roles and move on to the next phase of his career", Nokia said.

"I want to move on from executive roles to work in a different capacity, such as a board professional", Lundmark said.

Hotard, who leads Intel's artificial intelligence and data centre group, has previously "held several leadership roles at large technology companies", the statement said.

He will take over as Nokia CEO on April 1.

Nokia reported an 89 percent rise in net profit for 2024 last month, with sales surging in India and North America in the final three months of the year.