Verizon Communications recently announced a restructuring plan that combines the company’s two wireline groups, Verizon Telecom and Verizon Business, into a single entity called Verizon Wireline.
Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg said the simplified structure would enable the company to capitalize on new avenues of growth and increase productivity.
Verizon said the restructuring would also move marketing execution closer to customer-facing operations, while retaining the benefits of centralized management of key marketing issues. The wireline and wireless organizations will continue to be fully supported by the Verizon Services Operations (VSO) shared resources group.
“Our focus is on simplifying our organization with the objective of increasing speed to market, accelerating our growth trajectory and quickly reducing our costs in the process,” said Seidenberg.
The new structure followed the announcement of COO Dennis Strigl’s intended retirement.
As a result of the realignment, the two customer-facing business groups report directly to Seidenberg, as do Verizon’s shared services operation, chief information officer, chief technology officer and corporate staff functions.
In the new organization, the following changes were effective immediately:
- Lowell McAdam, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, continues in that role, reporting to Seidenberg. McAdam is responsible for Verizon’s wireless operations, with more than 87 million customers.
- Daniel Mead, who was president of Verizon Telecom, became chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, replacing Jack Plating, who announced his retirement on Oct. 2 after 34 years in the communications industry. Mead will report to McAdam.
- John Stratton, who was chief marketing officer for Verizon, is now chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, also reporting to McAdam.
- Fran Shammo, who was president of Verizon Business, has been named president of Verizon’s realigned wireline operations, reporting to Seidenberg. These operations encompass Verizon Telecom, Verizon Business and Verizon Partner Solutions, serving wholesale customers.
On Monday, Verizon announced it was bringing its FiOS TV service to central New York, which is currently served by Time Warner Cable. Verizon is now offering video service to customers in eight communities in the Syracuse area. Seven of the communities are in Onondaga County, while the other is in nearby Cayuga County.
Today, Verizon announced it had been granted a franchise agreement in Billerica, Mass. With the most recent franchise agreement, Verizon has 101 communities in Massachusetts where FiOS TV is currently available, or will be soon, the company said.
