Founder Profile
Ivan Seidenberg
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Ivan Seidenberg?
Ivan Seidenberg is a founder of Verizon, which was founded in 2000 with Charles R. Lee.
- Company founded
- Verizon
- Founded
- 2000
- Co-founders
- Charles R. Lee
Background
Ivan Seidenberg started at New York Telephone in 1966 as a cable splicer's assistant and worked his way up through NYNEX, becoming its chairman and CEO in 1995. He led NYNEX into its 1997 merger with Bell Atlantic and became Bell Atlantic's CEO in 1998, the year it agreed to combine with GTE.
Founding Story
Seidenberg was co-CEO of Verizon with Charles R. Lee from 2000, sole CEO from 2002 and chairman from 2004 until he retired as CEO in 2011. His tenure included the 2004 launch of Fios fiber-to-the-home service and the 2006 acquisition of MCI, which became the base of Verizon Business. Lowell McAdam succeeded him as CEO.
Ivan Seidenberg was born in 1946 in United States. Education: Lehman College; Pace University.