Verizon
Leadership History
4 leaders · 2000 to present
Dan Schulman is the CEO of Verizon, in the role since 2025. The first chief executive was Ivan Seidenberg, from 2000.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Schulman | Chief Executive Officer | 2025 | Present | 1 |
| Hans Vestberg | CEO | 2018 | 2025 | 7 |
| Lowell McAdam | CEO | 2011 | 2018 | 7 |
| Ivan Seidenberg | CEO | 2000 | 2011 | 11 |
Verizon spent $130 billion buying Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless in 2014, $4.4 billion on AOL in 2015, and $4.5 billion on Yahoo in 2017. The media acquisitions were assembled into a digital advertising business called Verizon Media, then sold to Apollo Global Management in 2021 for approximately $5 billion, a transaction that recovered a fraction of the capital invested and ended the experiment. What Verizon retained was the wireless business, the fiber network, and $138.2 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue from subscribers who pay monthly for connectivity they cannot easily replace. Hans Vestberg ran the company from 2018 to October 2025 and refocused it on wireless and broadband; Dan Schulman, the former PayPal CEO and a Verizon director, replaced him in October 2025. A market value of roughly $207 billion in mid-September 2026 is about 1.5 times fiscal 2025 revenue, a valuation typical of a mature carrier with predictable cash flow and limited room for subscriber growth. The $20 billion Frontier Communications acquisition closed on January 20, 2026, adding fiber passings in 31 states and Washington, D.C. to Verizon's footprint and marking the company's most significant infrastructure commitment since the Vodafone buyout. Frontier went through bankruptcy in 2020 before emerging as an independent company that Verizon then acquired, the integration of bankruptcy-era legacy systems, different workforce culture, and millions of copper lines requiring fiber upgrades represents a multi-year operational challenge. Fixed wireless access, which uses the 5G network to deliver home broadband without physical fiber installation, has grown faster than management initially projected and provides a lower-cost alternative to fiber deployment in certain market densities. Net income of $17.17 billion on $138.2 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue is a 12.4% net margin, healthy for a capital-intensive telecommunications company. The debt load from the Vodafone buyout and subsequent investments has been a persistent financial constraint, but consistent free cash flow generation from wireless subscriptions has enabled gradual deleveraging while maintaining the dividend that income-oriented investors hold Verizon for. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York.
Chief Executive Officer
2025 – Present
1 year (current)
Schulman briefly led Verizon's enterprise strategy before joining PayPal, focusing heavily on expanding digital payment infrastructure and early mobile commerce solutions.
His tenure laid foundational frameworks for Verizon's early attempts to monetize mobile network data through enterprise software partnerships.
CEO
2018 – 2025
7 years
Hans Vestberg led Verizon as a network-first CEO after serving as the company's technology chief and previously running Ericsson. He refocused the company on 5G, C-band spectrum, network virtualization, mobile edge computing, fixed wireless access, and the divestiture of Verizon Media. His decisions moved Verizon away from the AOL-Yahoo media experiment and back toward infrastructure. The measurable outcome was a stronger 5G and broadband platform, including millions of fixed wireless access connections, but subscriber momentum lagged rivals at key moments. His era ended with Dan Schulman's appointment in October 2025 and Vestberg serving as special advisor during the Frontier transition.
Hans Vestberg led Verizon as a network-first CEO after serving as the company's technology chief and previously running Ericsson.
CEO
2011 – 2018
7 years
Lowell McAdam led Verizon through the smartphone and LTE scale era. His most important decision was the 2014 purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, which gave Verizon full control of its most valuable business but also added major debt. He also pursued AOL and Yahoo to build a mobile advertising and digital media platform, a strategy that later proved weak against Google and Facebook. McAdam's tenure produced strategic control of wireless, but it also left a mixed legacy: a powerful core asset paired with expensive diversification bets that successors had to unwind.
Lowell McAdam led Verizon through the smartphone and LTE scale era.
CEO
2000 – 2011
11 years
Ivan Seidenberg led the formation era, when Verizon had to integrate Bell Atlantic and GTE while deciding which assets deserved the most capital. His defining decisions were to prioritize Verizon Wireless, make network reliability the company's brand promise, and launch Fios fiber in 2005 to challenge cable broadband. He accepted heavy upfront investment because he believed future telecom economics would belong to companies with superior access networks, not merely legacy phone lines. The measurable outcome was a stronger premium wireless reputation, a fiber beachhead in key markets, and a strategic identity centered on infrastructure quality.
Ivan Seidenberg led the formation era, when Verizon had to integrate Bell Atlantic and GTE while deciding which assets deserved the most capital.
Verizon faces wireless price competition, churn pressure, debt and interest costs, spectrum and network capital spending, broadband competition, Frontier integration risk, regulation, and restructuring after workforce reductions.
Verizon has been led by founding co-CEO Ivan Seidenberg (2000–2011), Lowell McAdam (2011–2018), Hans Vestberg (2018–2025), and Dan Schulman (October 2025–present).
Seidenberg rose from a phone cable splicer to architect the Bell Atlantic-GTE merger, created Verizon Wireless with Vodafone, launched the revolutionary Fios fiber buildout, and built Verizon into a telecommunications powerhouse.
A network engineer, McAdam rolled out America's first nationwide 4G LTE network, acquired Alltel, executed the historic $130 billion buyout of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, and acquired AOL and Yahoo.
Former Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg divested the failed digital media assets, spent $50B+ in C-band auctions to build 5G Ultra Wideband, pioneered 5G Fixed Wireless Access, acquired TracFone, and agreed to acquire Frontier before stepping down in 2025.
Dan Schulman served as founding CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, senior executive at AT&T and American Express, CEO of PayPal (2014–2023), and a Verizon board member since 2018 before being appointed CEO in October 2025.
Schulman announced a restructuring that eliminated over 13,000 corporate roles to streamline operations, reduced expensive device subsidies, simplified consumer plans, and prioritized convergence and share repurchases.
Schulman approaches telecommunications through a consumer-first fintech lens, focusing on digital app engagement, financial services, customized loyalty programs, and frictionless customer experiences.
Key executives include Tony Skiadas (EVP and Chief Financial Officer), Sowmyanarayan Sampath (EVP and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group), and Kyle Malady (EVP and CEO of Verizon Business).
Executive compensation is heavily tied to performance shares benchmarked against Total Shareholder Return (TSR) relative to peer S&P 100 companies, operating cash flow, and multi-year subscriber growth metrics.
The board maintains an independent lead director structure, overseeing audit, compensation, finance, and corporate governance committees to balance long-term capital allocation with dividend sustainability.
A culture grounded in "The Verizon Credo," prioritizing network integrity, customer accountability, diversity and inclusion, community disaster response, and ethical corporate conduct.
To transform Verizon from a traditional capital-heavy telco into a modern, high-return digital connectivity platform delivering exceptional consumer value and compounding shareholder returns.
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