verizon Chairman Mark Bertolini said Thursday of the company’s new and outgoing CEO: paypal Director Dan Schulman is working on a comeback. verizon The company has rebounded from stock losses under former CEO Hans Vestberg.
Mr. Bertolini also oscar health The CEO, who was named Verizon’s chairman last month, told Becky Quick on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the company needs to “do something different” with the leadership change.
“Verizon has gone from number one to number three in market capitalization, bond rating and market share. And the network is also not as differentiated as it used to be, mainly because everyone is putting money into putting these 5G networks in place,” Bertolini said. “Losing 30% share in the last eight years is a problem and we have to do something different.”
In October, the company announced that Schulman would succeed Vestberg, who has led the company since 2018. Schulman said in a statement at the time that he believed Verizon was at a “critical juncture” and that the company had “a clear opportunity to redefine its trajectory.”
Schulman previously led PayPal to significant revenue growth and has been on Verizon’s board since 2018.
Mr. Vestberg will remain on the Board of Directors until the 2026 Annual General Meeting and will serve as Special Advisor until October 4, 2026.
Bertolini said Thursday that Schulman is evaluating the underlying cost structure and other aspects to ensure the company’s success.
“Once we have that plan, I believe we can have a good story,” Bertolini said. “The street reacted early on that there was going to be a price war. I think it’s less about the price war and more about the value of what we’re delivering to people through our products.”
Mr. Bertolini added that Mr. Schulman would reveal plans to rebuild the company “sooner or later.”
“The board needed to act, and we did,” Bertolini said.
