• Even though Nokia’s main growth prospects lie elsewhere, the vendor is still keen to maintain its position as a major mobile network infrastructure vendor
• It has appointed Emma Falck as president of its Mobile Infrastructure division
• She joins ‘Team Nokia’ from Siemens

A lot has changed in Nokia’s mobile networks world over the past seven months – the vendor brought Nvidia on board as a strategic investor in October last year and then, shortly after, unveiled a new strategy that resulted in the exit of its former mobile networks chief Tommi Uitto and the merging of its core network, radio access network (RAN) and patents portfolios in a new Mobile Infrastructure division. 

Now Nokia CEO Justin Hotard, who had taken on the interim leadership of that division while he found a new executive team member, has appointed Emma Falck as president of Mobile Infrastructure, starting on 1 September. 

Falck, a Finnish national, joins from German tech giant Siemens, where she has most recently been executive vice president of products for smart infrastructure buildings. “At Siemens, she held senior strategy roles and led technology organisations building automation, software and connected devices,” noted Nokia.  

“I’m delighted to welcome Emma to Team Nokia,” stated Hotard. “As AI moves toward physical AI, networks need to become AI native by design for both 5G-Advanced and 6G. Our focus in Mobile Infrastructure (MI) is clear: To help our customers succeed by building a software-led infrastructure business that leverages open interfaces, standards, and a rich partner ecosystem to accelerate innovation. Emma brings broad transformation experience, operational leadership and a fresh perspective from global businesses that use technology to enable automation. She is the right leader to take MI into this new chapter.” 

As you’d expect, Falck, who will be based in Espoo, Finland, says she is “excited to join Nokia at a pivotal moment for our customers and the industry. As networks evolve to support new AI-driven demands, customers need partners who can deliver with speed and predictability, and turn technology roadmaps into real-world performance. Mobile Infrastructure’s breadth across core software, radio networks and technology standards is a solid foundation. I look forward to working with the team to strengthen our execution, embed AI into our development and delivery processes, and bring the next wave of innovation to our customers.”

By the time Falck takes up her post, Nokia will have reported its second-quarter numbers and the new head of Mobile Infrastructure will have a better idea if the unit has settled following its shake-up. In the first quarter, the division reported revenues of €2.5bn, up by 3% on a like-for-like basis, though radio access networks sales were flat year on year. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV