Verizon Communications Inc named Chief Technology Officer Hans Vestberg as its new CEO on Friday, surprising analysts and signaling the largest U.S. wireless company’s priority is building the next-generation 5G network, not expanding further into media content.
He began his tenure as CEO just after the company launched its 4G LTE network, which has since grown to offer robust nationwide coverage. He also oversaw major acquisitions including AOL and Yahoo, which were later combined into Oath. McAdam will remain as executive chairman of Verizon’s board through the end of this year.
“For Verizon, the time for a change in leadership is now, and I am confident that Hans is the right person to bring Verizon through its next chapter,” he said in a statement. “Hans is an energizing force who will continue to position Verizon to lead the fourth industrial revolution — the emergence of technologies that blend the physical and the digital to create historic breakthroughs in connectivity and mobility.”
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Before joining Verizon, he worked at the networking and telecommunications company Ericsson, where he served six years as chief executive and president and also was chief financial officer.
Verizon's chief marketing officer Diego Scotti, who joined the company in 2014, came from the retailer J. Crew. Ronan Dunne, who some industry insiders also saw as a potential successor to McAdam, became president of Verizon Wireless after serving as CEO of Telefonica UK. And CFO Matthew Ellis started at Verizon in 2013 after more than a decade at Tyson