Verizon names Ericsson veteran Hans Vestberg as CEO

New York, June 8, 2018 -Former Ericsson chief executive Hans Vestberg was named Friday as the new CEO of U.S. telecom group Verizon, succeeding Lowell McAdam as of August 1. 

Vestberg's rise is a clear indication that Verizon, the biggest USA wireless carrier, is prioritizing its network as it tries to take the lead in the race for faster networks known as 5G.

McAdam, 64, plans to retire at the end of the year and will serve as executive chairman of the board until then and then become non-executive chairman, the company said in a statement.  In this role, Vestberg has spearheaded Verizon's efforts to deliver seamless experiences for customers over the company's network, while demonstrating a willingness to disrupt established processes and practices to make Verizon stronger and more efficient. 

Verizon Communications's Lowell McAdam, the telco giant's CEO since 2011 and chairman since 2012, is retiring, the company said today. 

Since April 2017, Vestberg has served as Executive Vice President and President of Global Networks and Chief Technology Officer, with responsibility for further developing the architecture for Verizon's fiber-centric networks. 

The presence of Lowell C McAdam will assist Hans Vestberg to steer the growth of Verizon and bring new business. 

During his tenure as CEO, McAdam strategically positioned Verizon for next-generation growth. 

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Investors may be wondering if Vestberg, who was ousted from Ericsson in 2016 following a series of disappointing financial results and pressure from unhappy shareholders, may be the right person to lead Verizon. " 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". 

Wells Fargo Analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said the choice of Vestberg speaks volumes about Verizon's future priorities.  Nomura expected other executives to leave Verizon after the appointment. 

Under McAdam, Verizon took over the stake in the important wireless unit from Britain's Vodafone and built a customer base of more than 150 million. 

Under McAdam, Verizon expanded into content when it bought media sites AOL and Yahoo, creating a media division called Oath a year ago, which also owns sites like Tumblr and HuffPost. 

Vestberg had previously been CEO and president of Ericsson for six years. 

Vestberg has been in charge of Verizon's 5G initiatives, as well as its growing fiber network. 

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