Nokia Names Kristen Pressner As Chief People Officer And Member Of The Group Leadership Team

By Oystein Bergmann, Bureau Chief, Scandinavia

Nokia today announced the appointment of Kristen Pressner as Chief People Officer and member of the Group Leadership Team, effective 1 May 2026.

Pressner has over 30 years of international experience in HR, talent management, and organizational transformation. She joins Nokia from Roche Holding Group, where she most recently served as Global Head of People & Culture for Roche Diagnostics. Across her tenure at Roche Holding, she played a key role in strengthening leadership, evolving the company’s operating model, and shaping a culture that enables innovation and drives business impact. Earlier in her career at Texas Instruments, she held various HR leadership roles focused on driving culture and capability transformation in the dynamic global technology environment.

“I am thrilled to welcome Kristen to Team Nokia as we work together to build a culture of empowerment, accountability, and a customer-first mindset to increase focus and improve performance across our business. Kristen brings a wealth of experience in driving transformation through business. She will lead our cultural evolution toward an AI-empowered, united team, focused on delivering for our customers and seizing the opportunities the AI supercycle is creating for advanced and trusted connectivity,” said President and CEO of Nokia Justin Hotard.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to join Nokia. The company is transforming for the era of AI, cloud, and next-generation networks and at the center of that transformation are its people. Nokia’s success depends on the creativity, courage, and collaboration of its teams around the world, and I’m inspired by the opportunity to play a key role in unleashing that potential. As a global technology leader with a remarkable heritage and a bold future, Nokia is poised to shape the next chapter of connectivity and I can’t wait to be part of that journey,” Pressner commented.

Pressner will be based in Finland and report to Nokia’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Justin Hotard.

Kristen Pressner, CV

Born: 1970

Nationality: American and Swiss

Education:

Master of Business Administration (MBA), International Human Resources Management, University of Dallas

Bachelor of Arts, Communication, Purdue University

Experience:

2005–2025 Roche Holding Group

Global Head of People & Culture, Roche Diagnostics, 2016–2025

Vice President, Head of HR, Europe, Middle East, Africa & Latin America, Roche Diagnostics, 2012–2016

Sr. Director, Global Learning & Development, Group Human Resources, Roche Holding Group 2007–2012

Director, Talent Management, Roche Diagnostics Operations US, 2007

Manager, Human Resources Operations US, 2005–2006

1996–2005 Texas Instruments

Human Resources Manager, High Performance Analog, 2001–2005

Strategic Staffing Manager, Student Program & University Relations, 1999–2001

Mergers & Acquisitions Project Manager, Human Resources, 1998–1999

Senior International Assignments Specialist, 1996–1997

1992–1996 Branch Manager, Spherion Corporation

1992–1994 Account Executive, Trade Insurance Services