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Verizon Communications has named Lowell McAdam as its new president and chief operating officer–a significant step along the path to succeed longtime CEO and Chairman Ivan Seidenberg.
Verizon
McAdam, currently president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, will become responsible for the operations of Verizon Wireless, Verizon Telecom and Business, and Verizon Services Operations. McAdam, who is 56, will start his new job on October 1 and will report directly to Seidenberg.
The naming of McAdam as president and COO fills a job left empty after Dennis Strigl retired last year. More importantly, McAdam now becomes the logical candidate for the role of chairman and CEO when Seidenberg retires.
“The board’s selection of Lowell to this key, central position underscores its commitment to reward success while working with me to prepare our company for an executive transition in the future,” Seidenberg said in a statement.
Seidenberg is 64. Although Verizon Communications doesn’t impose a mandatory retirement age on its executives, CFO John Killian said last week that Seidenberg will probably retire when he turns 65, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Before McAdam became president and CEO of Verizon Wireless in 2007, he was executive vice president and COO of the company since its formation in 2000. Prior to joining Verizon, he was president and CEO of PrimeCo Personal Communications, a joint venture between Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch, and was vice president at AirTouch Communications.
Along with McAdam’s appointment come other shifts in top Verizon management.
Francis Shammo, currently president of Verizon Telecom and Business, will become Verizon Communications’ executive vice president and chief financial officer, replacing Killian, who recently announced he’ll retire at year’s end. Killian and McAdam were both named by Verizon’s board last year as the two possible successors to Seidenberg.
Daniel Mead, currently executive vice president and COO at Verizon Wireless, will become president and CEO of Verizon Wireless. John Stratton, currently chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless, will succeed Mead as COO. Both appointments are effective October 1.
