Ari Kynäslahti is Head of Nokia Defense where he leads the portfolio, strategy, and execution to grow Nokia’s defense business. Nokia Defense provides dual-use capabilities aligned with NATO Multi-Domain Operations—delivering trusted, high-performance connectivity for contested environments and enabling interoperable communications, secure data sharing, and analytics to support command-and-control decision-making.
Previously, Ari served as CTO of Mobile Networks, where he helped shape Nokia’s technology, business, and partnership strategies, led portfolio and investment management, and guided radio access network evolution toward 6G in collaboration with Bell Labs and academia. He also drove diversification into defense, public safety, and enterprise segments, working closely with stakeholders including the U.S. Department of Defense, NATO, government entities, and major defense contractors, and represented Nokia on the board of the AI-RAN Alliance.
Ari has been with Nokia since 1995, holding global leadership roles across product management, sales, R&D, and business development. He holds an M.Sc. in Radio Technology from Helsinki University of Technology, with minors in Corporate Strategy, International Business, and Economics.
Biography
