Verizon taps former PayPal boss Dan Schulman to be CEO

Verizon Communications on Monday named former PayPal boss Dan Schulman as its new chief executive officer, replacing Hans Vestberg in a leadership transition aimed at steering the telecom giant through slowing growth in the wireless market.

The move comes as Verizon is battling rising competition against the backdrop of slowing subscriber growth and cautious consumers unwilling to buy premium plans offered by wireless carriers.

Schulman, 67, led PayPal for nearly a decade before stepping down in 2023, steering the payments firm through its split from eBay and a surge in online transactions during the COVID pandemic.

Schulman, who has served on Verizon’s board for seven years, is focused on improving the customer experience. He told employees in an email on Monday the lessons from PayPal that “mattered most during that time weren’t about technology or scale, they were about culture, listening to customers and empowering teams to drive real change.”

He added: “We must drive financial results that exceed current market expectations.”

Vestberg oversaw the $52 billion purchase and clearing of key wireless C-Band spectrum in a 2021 auction and then negotiated with regulators and airlines over the deployment. He also struck a $20 billion deal to acquire Frontier Communications and a $6 billion acquisition of pre-paid mobile phones provider TracFone Wireless.

Verizon has also held talks about potentially acquiring spectrum from EchoStar.

“We’ve made transformational investments in C-Band spectrum that have positioned us to win in the next era of connectivity,” Vestberg said in a note to employees on Monday. “We’re also on the verge of closing the acquisition of Frontier, which will further expand our broadband footprint and open up even more opportunities for growth.”

Verizon shares were down 3% in morning trading.

Vestberg’s tenure at Verizon was marked by heavy investments in 5G networks and efforts to diversify revenue through media and enterprise services, though the company later exited most of its media holdings. Verizon has faced mounting pressure from rivals AT&T and T-Mobile US as the US wireless market matures.

Vestberg, who took the helm in 2018, will remain with the company as a special adviser through October 2026.

Verizon’s stock has underperformed shares of rival telecom operators in the past few years.

The appointment comes a few weeks after T-Mobile announced a CEO replacement, reflecting a changing US telecom sector with market leaders working to attract consumer dollars amid the fierce competition.