Verizon has just made an important change to its organization. The wireless network announced that Lowell McAdam will be stepping down from his role as chief executive of the company. To replace him is Hans Vestberg, the company’s current chief technology officer and VP of global networks.
According to the announcement, McAdam will be vacating this seat on August 1, 2018; which also marks his 7th year as a CEO for Verizon. He will be staying as an Executive Chairman of the Board until the year ends. After which, he will be assigned as a Non-Executive Chairman.
McAdams first began as a CEO of the company in August 2011 before becoming a Chairman just five months later. His stint as a CEO at Verizon led to numerous mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Not to mention, he formed a digital media and advertising subsidiary after acquiring AOL (2015) and Yahoo (2017).
Vestberg, on the other hand, is relatively new at the company. Prior to joining Verizon a year ago, he was the CEO of Ericsson from 2010 to 2016 until he was ousted from the company after becoming ineffective in turning around the company. He joined Verizon last year to spearhead the development of 5G as well as the continued fiber buildout of the company.
Asking for the reason behind the change, McAdam said that the board wanted to have “a fresh set of eyes” particularly since they intend to focus on the future of 5G. The goal of the wireless operator is to launch 5G service in five different cities before 2018 ends. With this new appointment, it just goes to show that Verizon is prioritizing its technology business and the expansion of its network over media and content.
