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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Yes—but “out” needs a qualification. Hans Vestberg is no longer Verizon’s chairman or chief executive. Dan Schulman became Verizon Communications’ CEO on October 4, 2025, and Verizon announced the change publicly on October 6. Vestberg did not immediately leave the company: he remained a special adviser, including on the Frontier Communications integration and broadband strategy, with that assignment expected to run through October 4, 2026.
Mark Bertolini became board chairman. Schulman, a former PayPal president and CEO, was already a Verizon director and had served as lead independent director since December 2024.
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What changed at Verizon—and when?
Verizon’s board approved a leadership transition in which Dan Schulman succeeded Hans Vestberg as CEO effective October 4, 2025. Verizon issued its public announcement two days later, on October 6.
| Role | Before the transition | After the transition |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon CEO | Hans Vestberg | Dan Schulman |
| Verizon board chair | Hans Vestberg | Mark Bertolini |
| Vestberg’s status | Chairman and CEO | Former chairman and CEO; special adviser during the transition |
The company described the handoff as a planned transition agreed by Vestberg and the board. Its announcement does not establish that Vestberg was fired or that weak performance directly caused his departure.
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Verizon’s 2026 proxy statement records Schulman as CEO and Vestberg as the former chairman and CEO who continued as a strategic adviser.
Who is Dan Schulman?
Schulman brings both telecom and financial-technology experience to Verizon. He was president and CEO of PayPal, and earlier held senior roles at AT&T, Priceline, Virgin Mobile and American Express. Verizon says his PayPal tenure involved transforming the company into a global payments platform; those descriptions are the company’s characterization rather than an independent performance assessment.
He was not an outside hire unfamiliar with Verizon. Schulman joined Verizon’s board in 2018 and became its lead independent director in December 2024. That prior board role gives him familiarity with Verizon’s operations, risks and capital decisions while he takes on day-to-day management.
In Verizon’s announcement, Schulman identified four broad objectives: regain market leadership, increase market share, reduce costs and improve capital allocation. They are management priorities, not guaranteed outcomes.
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Who is Hans Vestberg now?
Vestberg became Verizon CEO on August 1, 2018. During his tenure, Verizon highlighted major 5G network investment, C-Band spectrum deployment, broadband expansion, the myPlan era and the proposed Frontier acquisition. Verizon characterized the period as eight years of network investment and cultural change.
After stepping down, Vestberg stayed as a special adviser. His transition duties included helping with the Frontier integration and Verizon’s broadband and convergence strategy. Verizon expected that adviser role to continue through October 4, 2026.
The original announcement also said Vestberg would remain on Verizon’s board until the 2026 annual meeting. Shareholders held that meeting on May 21, 2026, and Verizon reported the election of the company’s nine director nominees. The available voting-results release does not provide a complete list identifying every director who may have departed, so it does not support a more specific claim about Vestberg’s final board date.
Why did Verizon make the change?
Verizon’s stated explanation
Verizon said it was entering a new phase focused on growth, stronger customer focus and financial improvement. The company linked the timing to the pending Frontier Communications acquisition and a broader broadband-and-convergence strategy.
What the strategy implies
For investors, the transition looks like a change in operating emphasis rather than an abandonment of Verizon’s core businesses. The company is still dealing with wireless, fiber, enterprise services and network investment, while attempting to improve customer growth and returns. Schulman’s stated agenda points toward tighter execution, lower cost to serve, more disciplined capital allocation and a stronger push for market-share gains.
Frontier matters because integrating a large broadband asset can affect spending, customer acquisition, network economics and management attention. Verizon’s announcement connects the adviser assignment and leadership timing to that work, but it does not prove Frontier was the sole reason for the CEO change.
What does this mean for Verizon customers?
The CEO transition by itself does not change a customer’s wireless plan, contract, billing, device financing, network access or support procedure. No immediate price change, store-closure plan, layoff program or service-quality outcome follows automatically from the announcement.
Over time, customers could notice decisions shaped by the priorities Verizon has outlined—such as efforts to simplify offers, acquire and retain more customers, expand broadband or reduce operating costs. Those are possible consequences of strategy, not announced changes to individual accounts.
What should Verizon investors watch?
- Customer growth and retention: whether Verizon can turn the stated market-share goal into sustained subscriber gains.
- Frontier integration: whether the acquisition improves broadband reach and economics without creating execution problems.
- Cost control: whether lower operating costs arrive without impairing network quality or customer service.
- Capital allocation: whether management balances spectrum, network and broadband investment with balance-sheet and shareholder priorities.
- Operational accountability: whether Schulman’s technology and payments background translates into better telecom execution.
These are questions for future results. The leadership announcement itself does not establish that Verizon’s share price will rise or fall.
Do not confuse this with the Verizon Consumer Group change
Verizon made a separate divisional change in February 2026. Sowmyanarayan Sampath stepped down as CEO of the Verizon Consumer Group on February 4, and Alfonso Villanueva, previously Verizon’s executive vice president and chief transformation officer, became interim head of that group. Sampath’s separation from Verizon was listed as March 27, 2026.
That was not a second replacement for Verizon Communications’ corporate CEO. Dan Schulman remained the companywide CEO.
Verizon leadership timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 1, 2018 | Hans Vestberg becomes Verizon CEO. |
| December 2024 | Dan Schulman becomes Verizon’s lead independent director. |
| October 4, 2025 | Schulman becomes CEO; Vestberg steps down as chairman and CEO; Mark Bertolini becomes board chairman. |
| October 6, 2025 | Verizon publicly announces the transition. |
| February 4, 2026 | Sampath steps down from the Verizon Consumer Group; Villanueva becomes interim leader. |
| March 27, 2026 | Sampath separates from Verizon. |
| May 21, 2026 | Verizon holds its annual shareholder meeting. |
| October 4, 2026 | Vestberg’s announced special-adviser term is expected to end. |
Primary company documents are Verizon’s CEO-transition announcement, 2026 proxy statement, Consumer Group leadership notice and 2026 annual-meeting voting results.
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