Nokia Oyj’s AI Turn Gets a New Boss as Shares Rally Again

13 May 2026

HELSINKI, May 13, 2026, 17:05 (EEST)

Nokia Oyj is bringing in Siemens executive Emma Falck to head up its Mobile Infrastructure division starting Sept. 1, shifting the leadership of its key telecom segment as the company works to translate an AI-fueled jump in share price into more reliable revenue. Falck will also take a seat on Nokia’s group leadership team, according to the company.

This shift is significant. Mobile Infrastructure remains the tough slog for Nokia—radio networks, core software, and tech standards make up the hardest ground. In the first quarter, the unit managed a 3% lift on constant currency, but Radio Networks itself saw no momentum. Nokia’s Optical Networks, on the other hand, jumped thanks to AI data-center demand.

Investors kept piling in. Nokia shares in Helsinki traded up 5.5%, changing hands around 11.70 euros. Over in New York, the company’s ADRs hovered near $13.56, a gain just shy of 3% during the morning session.

Falck comes over from Siemens, where she serves as executive vice president for products in Smart Infrastructure Buildings. Nokia noted she previously held senior positions at Boston Consulting Group and KONE, and holds a PhD in computational physics from Aalto University.

Justin Hotard, the chief executive, described the appointment as a move to position Nokia for the next wave of mobile buildouts. With AI making its way into industrial systems, Hotard said networks now need to be “AI-native by design.” He also noted that Nokia is pushing for its Mobile Infrastructure unit to shift toward a more software-driven focus. Telecoms

Falck put it simply: the business has to execute with “speed and predictability” while customers deal with fresh, AI-fueled traffic surges. A straightforward demand, yet hardly easy. Telecom operators have been holding back on capital expenditures after the heavy 5G buildout, and 6G still isn’t close.

Nokia on Tuesday rolled out new agentic AI tools targeting home and broadband networks. These tools, built on Nokia’s experience from over 600 million broadband lines, are designed to help operators reduce faults, accelerate fibre deployment, and limit repeat site visits. Agentic AI, as described by Nokia, enables software to reason, make decisions, and act toward defined goals.

Grant Lenahan, a partner and principal analyst at Appledore Research, pointed out that the challenge isn’t merely about adding AI to networks—it’s about supplying that AI with actionable data. Nokia’s solution, he said, relies on “autonomous control loops” and “open APIs”—these application programming interfaces allow different software systems to communicate. Computer Weekly

The real spark behind the stock’s move isn’t coming from mobile. Nokia posted a 54% jump in first-quarter comparable operating profit, hitting 281 million euros. Net sales to AI and cloud clients shot up 49%, with fresh orders from those customers totaling 1 billion euros, Reuters said last month.

The way investors stack up Nokia against its rivals has changed. Ericsson, for mobile, still stands out as the more direct comparator. But over in optical and IP networks—key for AI data centres—names like Ciena and Cisco are drawing attention too, with the rapid push for faster data links starting to shift order patterns.

Nokia scored a legal win this week, as a UK appeals court permanently halted London lawsuits from Acer and Asus tied to video-coding patents. The decision comes after Nokia contested a previous High Court ruling. At the heart of the dispute: FRAND terms—industry jargon for fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions in patent licensing.

Valuation and timing are key issues here. After Nvidia put $1 billion into Nokia last year, Reuters Breakingviews pointed out that AI-powered telecom networks are still in the early innings—widespread 6G probably won’t be here until 2030. Nvidia’s Nokia arrangement? Not exclusive. Cisco, too, has AI infrastructure deals with the chipmaker.

So for Nokia, bringing in Falck isn’t hitting the reset button—it’s about proving the strategy works. The AI story is in place, optics are looking better, and shares have climbed. Mobile, though, still needs to deliver something beyond sitting tight for another network cycle.

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Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech. Her coverage ranges from stocks and technology to emerging industries and developments across global markets. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and worked in market research before becoming a financial journalist. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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