• Verizon’s new CEO has made multiple network exec changes
• Adam Koeppe becomes head of core engineering and operations
• Srini Kalapala is head of wireless networks, Lynn Cox is head of fibre infrastructure

Verizon’s recently-appointed CEO Dan Schulman, who unexpectedly took over from Hans Vestberg in early October, has made changes to his senior network team with a number of executives – namely Verizon veterans Adam Koeppe, Srini Kalapala and Lynn Cox – appointed to new roles at the telco. 

The appointments tie in with Schulman’s strategic goals, which he immediately identified following his appointment, noting that his team will “maximise our value propositions, reduce our cost to serve and optimise our capital allocation to delight our customers, and deliver sustainable long-term growth for our shareholders”. 

In terms of reducing costs, Verizon has been making the headlines with its decision to cut 13,000 jobs.  

At the same time, Schulman is keen to ensure Verizon has the best possible networks that can deliver optimum customer satisfaction and enable the operator to develop and deliver competitive services, and this has influenced his revamp of the senior tech team. 

It should be noted, though, that Joe Russo remains president of global networks and technology, and Yago Tenorio is still CTO, though Verizon is yet to confirm whether any senior tech executives are exiting the business as a result of the revamp. 

Koeppe, who has been head of Verizon’s Technology Planning, Capital, and Maintenance Engineering team, becomes head of the new, combined Core Engineering & Operations (CE&O) organisation, “an expanded and critically important leadership role”, he announced in this LinkedIn post. 

“This new challenge is an exciting opportunity to re-engage with the operational heart of the business, where we translate visionary strategy into real-world performance,” he continued. “In my new role, our focus is simple but profound: Network Excellence. As a company, we are fully reorienting ourselves around delighting our customers, and that mission begins with an unmatched network experience.  The Core Engineering and Operations team will focus 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.”

In reference to the changes underway at the telco, Koeppe, who has been at Verizon for more than 23 years, added: “It’s been a tough couple weeks here as many of our friends and colleagues are leaving Verizon. There is immense gratitude for their years of service to our customers. Health and happiness to all as you begin your next chapter.”

Kalapala, who has been at Verizon for more than 15 years and most recently as chief product development officer, has been appointed chief network officer, wireless. As the head of Verizon’s wireless networks group, Kalapala is “directly at the intersection of technology and the customer experience every single moment of every day,” he noted in this LinkedIn post. 

“Our mission is simple and profound: to build, optimize, and run the world’s best mobility network. Here in the Wireless Networks group, we are obsessively focused on the fundamentals – wireless engineering, optimization, and operations – to drive speed, efficiency, and consistency across everything we do… I am energized to lead this talented team as we build the new Verizon and ensure that our connectivity doesn't just enable innovation, but directly delivers exceptional experiences to our customers every time. The future is connected, and we are laying the backbone,” stated Kalapala. 

Cox, who has been at the operator for more than 27 years, takes on the role of chief network officer, fiber – she had previously been chief network officer. 

“I recently stepped into a new role, leading our critical mission to expand and deliver the future of broadband,” noted Cox in this LinkedIn post. “A vision this big is never achieved alone. I have the deep privilege of leading an exceptionally talented team of engineers and operators. Their dedication to excellence is the engine behind our network, and my confidence in our success starts with them. We are focused on a single, clear objective: delivering the best, most reliable broadband experience for our customers.”

Cox added: “Connectivity is the lifeblood of our nation. It’s the small business competing globally from a main street, the smart-home that keeps a family connected, the enterprise datacentre powering new innovations, and the stadium delivering an immersive 5G experience to thousands of fans at once. We build the network that makes all of this possible.” 

The size of Verizon’s fibre access network will soon get significantly bigger once the $20bn deal to acquire Frontier Communications, first announced in September 2024, closes in the first quarter of next year: It is one of a number of broadband infrastructure deals that are shifting the US broadband market sands – see M&A megadeals reshape US comms sector. 

Verizon ended September with 74.36 million wireless consumer retail postpaid phone customers and 18.88 million wireless business/enterprise retail postpaid phone customers. It also ended September with almost 10.6 million consumer broadband customers, including 3.2 million fixed wireless access (FWA) customers, and 2.65 million business broadband customers, of which almost 2.2 million are FWA users. 

Among Schulman’s aims is to significantly boost Verizon’s customer base. In presenting the telco’s third quarter financials, the CEO noted that Verizon will "no longer be the hunting ground for competitors looking to gain share," referencing (though not by name) traditional rivals AT&T and T-Mobile US as well as the cable giants Comcast and Charter, which have been gaining mobile customers with cut-price deals. "For the past few years, our financial growth has relied too heavily on price increases. Every year it gets harder to grow as we lap past price increases and experience higher churn," he stated.

Now Verizon is cutting the price of key mobile service plans in an effort to grow its post-paid customer base, and no doubt consumers will take note and some will churn as a result. 

However, the move has attracted criticism from analysts at research and investment firm LightShed Partners, who believe the move is a “negative signal for the industry, as it points to renewed pressure on ARPU, which is critical to revenue stability in a mature, fully penetrated market with limited prospects for new growth.”

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV