Nokia is shaking up its top management with a new Technology and AI unit and Corporate Development office. Former Intel executive Pallavi Mahajan will join Nokia as Chief Technology and AI Officer, while Konstanty Owczarek is hired as Chief Corporate Development Officer. At the same time Nishant Batra is stepping down as Chief Strategy and Technology Officer.
The change in leadership follows Justin Hotard taking over as CEO at Nokia this spring, to lead a new strategy to expand into the growing data centre and AI market. Batra was named by the previous CEO Pekka Lundmark back in 2020 and is stepping aside for the new team.
The Technology and AI Organization (TAO) will integrate Nokia Bell Labs, Technology and AI Leadership, and Group Security. It will be led by Mahajan, who previously served as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Data Center and Artificial Intelligence Software at Intel. Nokia said she has significant experience in networks, software and AI, including also positions at HPE, where she developed supercomputing programs and led the company’s hybrid cloud strategy, and an earlier position at Juniper Networks, where she worked on self-driving networks.
The Corporate Development Organization led by Owczarek will integrate Corporate Development, Strategic Partnerships, Mergers and Acquisitions, incubation activities and NGP Capital. Owczarek brings broad experience in corporate development, investment banking, investing and strategy, with previous executive positions at HPE’s High Performance Compute, AI & Labs business, where he led strategy and business development, as well as product life cycle management and other operating management. Before HPE he was head of strategy and innovation at insurer AIG’s Life and Retirement business.
