Verizon CEO Dan Schulman’s corporate overhaul hit the carrier's network leadership team with a handful of job priorities being shifted under new titles, moves that come on the heels of Verizon announcing plans to slash thousands of jobs.

Adam Koeppe will head Verizon’s newly combined Core Engineering and Operations group, having previously headed up what was the carrier’s Technology Planning, Capital, and Maintenance Engineering team.

The long-time carrier technology executive in a LinkedIn post described the new group as being focused on “unmatched reliability and resilience, optimizing the network to fuel growth, and defining and providing next-generation security.”

“This expanded team, with its deep and cohesive talent, is poised to unleash innovation, accelerate decision-making, and ensure the network we deliver is intelligent, reliable, and secure enough to power the next wave of innovation, including 5G and beyond,” Koeppe wrote.

Srini Kaplan was tapped to lead Verizon’s Wireless Networks group, having previously served as the carrier’s chief product development officer, and before that as VP of Verizon’s network virtualization and cloud efforts.

Kaplan described the new role as being “directly at the intersection of technology and the customer experience,” with specific oversight of “wireless engineering, optimization, and operations.”

Verizon this week did sign a deal with Array Digital Infrastructure that could make Kaplan’s task a bit easier. The agreement will allow Verizon to tap Array’s approximately 4,400 towers sprinkled across the country to hang 5G radio antennas.

Verizon SVP and Chief Network Officer Lynn Cox added a fiber focus to her long-standing position, highlighting the carrier’s growing focus on wired broadband. Cox explained that this will include oversight of Verizon’s entire fiber portfolio serving the consumer and enterprise space.

Schulman’s mandate marches on

The latest changes come just two months after Verizon abruptly tapped Schulman to replace long-time CEO Hans Vestberg. Schulman, who had been serving on Verizon’s board, said the move to replace Vestberg came “at a critical time” for the carrier.

“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,” Schulman noted in a statement at that time. “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.”

Schulman acted on that criticality by quickly refocusing Verizon’s efforts on broadband and AI, with a warning that underperforming operations could be cut.

“We have parts of our business that are costing us billions of dollars of margin and I think we can think much more clearly about how do we invest in growth areas and divest or exit those that are not that for us and are actually hemorrhaging margins for us,” Schulman said during Verizon’s third-quarter earnings call, before adding ominously, “you can probably imagine what we're thinking about and talking about on that.”

Schulman also named former PayPal colleague Alfonso Villanueva to head up the carrier’s operational transformation as EVP and chief transformation officer. Schulman explained in a “letter” tied to the hiring that Villanueva will head “key functions … on developing our digital infrastructure and expanding the capabilities we need to delight customers and lead the industry.”

“Our new Transformation Organization will be responsible for driving the change we need to execute against our strategic priorities, and scaling the innovation, technologies, and investments that will define the next chapter of Verizon’s growth,” Schulman wrote, further adding that, “Alfonso and his team will help us see beyond where we are today and build the next wave of opportunities into lasting competitive advantage. This is about taking bold action – transforming our company to focus on creating value for our customers and shareholders, maximizing the impact of our resources and capabilities, and leading our industry forward.”

Just a week after Villanueva took the position, Verizon announced plans to slash more than 13,000 jobs. Verizon noted in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that the move will see 80% of the employees impacted “exiting the business in December 2025.”

The carrier added that it expects to take a severance charge of up to $1.8 billion during the current fourth quarter tied to the cuts and noted that it “expects that its cost reduction efforts will include a significant reduction in outsourced, contracted, and other outside labor expense.”

Koeppe in his LinkedIn post acknowledged the move.

“It’s been a tough couple weeks here as many of our friends and colleagues are leaving Verizon,” Koeppe wrote. “There is immense gratitude for their years of service to our customers. Health and happiness to all as you begin your next chapter.”