Dan Schulman, former CEO of PayPal, has recently been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Verizon. Mark Bertolini has been elected to Chairman of the Board of Directors. Outgoing CEO Hans Vestberg has transitioned to the role of Special Advisor and remains a Board member until the 2026 Annual Meeting. Schulman brings extensive leadership experience across telecom, tech, and finance, including roles at AT&T, Virgin Mobile, American Express and PayPal.
Schulman commented, “I believe in Verizon and its future, and I am honoured to be chosen to serve as CEO. Verizon is at a critical juncture. We have a clear opportunity to redefine our trajectory, by growing our market share across all segments of the market, while delivering meaningful growth in our key financial metrics. We are going to maximize our value propositions, reduce our cost to serve, and optimize our capital allocation to delight our customers, and deliver sustainable long-term growth for our shareholders.”
At the time of Schulman’s CEO appointment in October, Verizon’s Chair of the Board Mark Bertolini commented: “The Board is thrilled to have Dan as Verizon’s next CEO, and embark on a new chapter of growth and sector leadership. Dan is a seasoned and decisive leader with a unique set of experiences, and a proven record of transformative leadership and operational excellence. He is the right leader to chart Verizon’s next phase of increased focus and financial growth.”
Schulman had served on Verizon’s board of directors for over seven years and was elected Lead Independent Director at the end of 2024 prior to being elected CEO.
Unfortunately Schulman has been tasked with the unenviable position of announcing Verizon’s single largest layoff, on 20 November 2025, with an estimated 13,000 employees affected.
In a note to employees, it is alleged that Schulman said that alongside the job cuts across the organisation, Verizon will also significantly cut costs by reducing outsourced and other outside labour expenses. A US$20m career transition fund for laid off employees has been set aside to focus on the “opportunities and necessary skill sets as we enter the age of AI”.
