- Nokia names Siemens exec Emma Falck to lead mobile infrastructure
- She will be based in Espoo, Finland, and report to CEO Justin Hotard
- Falck’s appointment comes as Nokia pushes deeper into AI-RAN and 6G
Nokia’s new president of Mobile Infrastructure (MI) is Emma Falck, currently EVP of Products and Smart Infrastructure Buildings at Siemens. The appointment is effective September 1.
Falck will be based in Espoo, Finland, and report directly to Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard.
Hotard, who joined Nokia in April 2025, has been acting head of the mobile infrastructure business since the former mobile networks president, Tommi Uitto, left in December after 30 years with the company. His departure came after Nokia announced its restructuring in November.
Nokia’s focus on AI
Falck’s move to Nokia comes as the 5G buildout cycle moves into later stages and Nokia’s emphasis is on transitioning to AI-native networks for both 5G Advanced and 6G.
“Our focus in mobile infrastructure 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,” Hotard said in a statement. “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.”
In a video posted to LinkedIn, Falck talked about how networks are moving into the AI-driven era, which is a shift in performance, architecture and value creation. “Nokia is in pole position to be driving that shift,” she said. “We really have the momentum to do so.”
Prior to joining Siemens in 2020, Falck was a partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group and held senior leadership roles at KONE. She holds a PhD in Computational Physics from Aalto University.
Nokia is on track to begin field trials with AI-RAN gear by the end of this year after signing an investment deal with Nvidia in Q4 of last year.
Analyst: New talent should be a plus for Nokia
Daryl Schoolar, analyst at Recon Analytics, said it’s interesting that Nokia is bringing in someone from outside telecom to lead the mobile infrastructure group.
“As we know, mobile infrastructure as a whole is not growing due to a combination of factors,” he told Fierce. “One of those reasons has been the failure of 5G to create new markets outside of traditional connectivity, especially when it comes to enterprise solutions.”
Falck’s experience at Siemens should be a plus for Nokia when it comes to having a better understanding of how mobile network solutions can meet enterprise communication needs, he said.
“Furthermore, coming in from the outside, she might see ways Nokia's Mobile Infrastructure division can improve its processes and transform the organization to best compete in the 6G era that someone internal to Nokia might not see,” he said.