Verizon continues to leak executives as long-time network technology executive Nicola Palmer said she would be retiring from the operator she has worked at for 33 years.
In a LinkedIn post, Palmer announced she would be retiring in July, and touted her experience at the operator.
“It is rare these days to find that kind of career longevity with a single company, but I found it with Verizon,” Palmer wrote. “I know what kept me here all these years … it was the opportunity to continuously learn and grow and work alongside the most talented people to bring the best technology to life with purpose. I feel lucky and extremely grateful for this front row seat during the rise of the digital age.”
(Palmer also includes a pretty cool video that’s definitely worth watching.)
Palmer’s history at Verizon dates back to its founding in late 2000, having previously served in leadership roles at Bell Atlantic. During her time at Verizon, Palmer was part of different wireline and 3G, 4G LTE and 5G network teams, eventually landing as chief technology ambassador.
Palmer’s retirement will come just a couple of months after long-time Verizon CFO Matt Ellis left the carrier. Ellis’ last day was May 1, having been with the carrier for 10 years and in his current CFO role for six years.
“This is the right time for me to step away, recharge my batteries for a while, and then decide what I want to do next,” Ellis said during a call on the news, adding that his tenure is the longest by any Verizon CFO.
Tony Skiadas has been tapped to replace Ellis, though on a short-term basis. Skiadas had served as SVP and controller at Verizon and has held various other roles within the carrier’s finance team.
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told investors that the carrier was in the process of looking for a long-term CFO replacement.
Verizon’s network executive shuffleThose retirements also come on the heels of numerous executive changes at Verizon.
On the network side, Joe Russo recently replaced Kyle Malady as head of Verizon’s Global Networks and Technology division. Russo, who previously served as SVP and chief network officer, replaced Malady, who himself replaced Sowmyanarayan Sampath as head of Verizon Business.
That move and accompanying language indicate Vestberg wanted to have deeper network insight in the business group.
“The technology is moving forward, especially in the Verizon business segment,” Vestberg said during a call on those executive changes. “It’s very important to have the technology acumen to be able to talk to the customers, the CIOs of our customers, the chief procurement officers, and even the CEO, so [Malady’s] extremely capable of doing that given his background and his way of leading.”
Verizon has been trying to better penetrate the business market, specifically around private networks. Sampath said during an investor conference in November that the carrier had dozens of private networks already deployed, with accelerating momentum.
“On the private networks, we are very bullish on that opportunity and I think things have gotten a little faster in the last 90 days than they’ve gotten in the last year or so,” Sampath said, adding most of Verizon’s initial private network deals have resulted in incremental spending by customers.
However, earlier this year, Vestberg bemoaned slower than expected uptake in the space could limit the carrier’s ability to hit $2 billion in MEC and enterprise-related revenues by 2025.
Verizon more recently named former Hewlett Packard (HP) executive Jonathan Nikols to head the carrier’s enterprise operations in the Americas. Nikols will oversee the carrier’s enterprise aspirations in the Western Hemisphere, including the carrier’s business-focused 5G services, private networking, fixed-wireless access (FWA) and mobile edge compute (MEC) services.
Comments