Nokia has poached Gregory Dorai, Cisco’s enterprise networking general manager, as the Finnish firm continues its push into the network infrastructure space.

Revealing the news in a post on LinkedIn, Dorai joins Nokia as the SVP and general manager for IP Networks, a role vacated by Vach Kompella, who is set to retire after almost three decades at the firm.

“IP networks has so many exciting opportunities ahead, and I am looking forward to working with this high-performing, energetic, and friendly team to deliver on transformational growth and innovation priorities across service provider, mission-critical, and AI infrastructure and cloud segments,” Dorai said.

A storied stalwart in the world of networking, Dorai previously held roles at Bain & Company and AT&T, respectively.

He spent a little over a decade at Cisco, holding several roles across its enterprise networking portfolio. From 2022, he notably served as GM for enterprise networking, where he was responsible for the strategy and success of the networking giant’s cloud and on-premises enterprise switching portfolio.

Dorai sat down with SDxCentral way back in 2017 – when he held the role of VP for product management for Cisco’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions group – to discuss Cisco’s intent-based networking models and the machine learning embeddings within its Digital Network Architecture (DNA) Center (an offering which has since been rebranded as Catalyst Center).

Upon joining Nokia, Dorai finds himself at a vendor looking to take advantage of what it describes as the “AI supercycle” with an aggressive push deeper into the network infrastructure space.

Central to the Finnish firm’s strategy is splitting its business effectively into two umbrellas, encompassing Mobile Infrastructure and Network Infrastructure, respectively.

The change, announced last November, was part of a restructuring effort as it seeks to position itself as the supplier of the underlying infrastructure across its traditional wheelhouse of mobile, but also the data center space to support the growing demand for AI applications.

Dorai’s LinkedIn profile rework following the move aligns with this, stating that his role encompasses “driving transformational growth in the AI supercycle for Nokia IP networks.”

The exec’s switch came the same week in which his new employers reported their first financials since the watershed pivot.

Nokia disclosed its Network Infrastructure segment – which encompasses optical networks, IP networks, and fixed networks – rose by 7% year-on-year (YoY) in Q4 2025, rising to $8.6 million (€7.6 million).

Its optical networks offerings saw a 17% jump YoY with AI demand helping to drive that growth, while Dorai’s new home of IP networks at Nokia rose by 24% YoY. It wasn’t such a positive outing for fixed networks, however, which remained fairly flat.