Nokia has made a series of major changes in a bid to reach $3.2 billion profitability by 2028, with long-time mobile president Tommi Uitto departing the firm.

The vendor is splitting its operational model into two primary operating segments, Network Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure, effective as of January 1, 2026.

CEO Justin Hotard, who was brought in to replace the ousted Pekka Lundmark earlier this year, will lead the new Mobile unit on an interim basis. The long-serving Uitto will step down from Nokia leadership at the end of the year.

The new Mobile Infrastructure segment will integrate Nokia’s Core Networks, Radio Networks, and Technology Standards, enabling telecom developments in AI-native networks and 6G.

With a focus on core and radio network technologies and services, the unit follows on from the launch of Nokia’s new ‘home of radio,’ a 3,000-strong campus based in Oulu, Finland.

The segment aims to unite Nokia’s portfolio built on 3GPP-based mobile communication technologies, supported by strong cash flow from IP licensing. Hotard will oversee three business units for the unit: Core Software, Radio Networks, and Technology Standards.

The Network Infrastructure business, meanwhile, will be led by its current network infrastructure president, David Heard. The segment is positioned by the Finnish giant as it looks to continue capitalizing on the AI data center build-out alongside its traditional telecom base. It'll be driven by three business units: Optical Networks, IP Networks, and Fixed Networks.

“Nokia changed the world once by connecting people, and will again by connecting intelligence,” said Hotard. “As the trusted Western provider of secure and advanced connectivity, our technology is powering the AI supercycle. From fixed to mobile infrastructure, we are developing technology that accelerates value for our customers. I am proud of the work Team Nokia is doing to focus and lead this critical era in connectivity.”

Nokia also established a separate Portfolio Businesses unit integrating its fixed wireless access and site implementation businesses, as well as its Enterprise Campus Edge and Microwave Radio verticals.

In addition, an incubation unit named Nokia Defense was launched to leverage the US-based Nokia Federal Solutions segment, aiming for expansion in the US, Finland, and other allied nations to provide defense-grade solutions from both of its consolidated units.

In more personnel changes, Raghav Sahgal will assume the role of chief customer officer, while Patrik Hammarén will continue as president, Technology Standards, formerly Nokia Technologies.

Nokia also aims to leapfrog its current comparable operating profit of $2.7bn to $3.2bn within two years. The telecom vendor separated this target from its group-level financial outlook, which is designed to replace prior long-term targets for a comparable operating margin of “at least 13 percent and free cash flow conversion from comparable operating profit of 55 percent to 85 percent.”

The restructure is Nokia’s biggest announcement since October’s news that Nvidia made a $1 billion investment in the European vendor.

Nokia said the investment would help its development of 5G and 6G radio access network (RAN) technologies, as well as accelerate its strategic plans to advance trusted connectivity for “the AI supercycle,” a phrase repeated in today’s announcement.

Beyond RAN efforts, the vendor has been making sizable strides into the data center network space, leveraging Hotard's expertise, with the CEO having previously led the data center and AI unit at Intel.

Major wins in this segment have seen Nokia become the primary networking partner for Nscale, the ambitious data center at the center of OpenAI’s Stargate buildout in Europe.