In an unexpected turn of events Justin Hotard, the executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center and AI Group (DCAI) at Intel, left the company to become chief executive of Nokia. Intel has appointed an internal head for its datacenter and AI unit and will start searching for a new permanent general manager immediately.

KEY TAKEAWAYS Nokia said Monday that it has appointed Intel’s Justin Hotard as CEO, replacing Pekka Lundmark, as the Finnish telecoms equipment maker looks to beef up its artificial intelligence business.

After Intel lost its CEO Pat Gelsinger, the company has suffered another blow as its CEO of Datacenter and AI has now officially joined Nokia.