As anticipated, Verizon Communications elevated president and chief operating officer Lowell McAdam to CEO, replacing the retiring Ivan Seidenberg, who will remain chairman.
McAdam will assume the CEO position effective Aug. 1. Verizon set up his ascension to the top spot last fall in appointing McAdam, who previously was president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, second in command at the telco. Seidenberg is expected to retire sometime in 2011.
In his current role, McAdam, 57, is responsible for all business operations at Verizon, including the strategic direction of the company's products and technologies. He has served on the board of Verizon since March 2011 and on the board of Verizon Wireless since 2003. McAdam has been the chairman of Verizon Wireless since September 2010.
"This has been a very smooth transition by any measure, and we have Ivan to thank for that," McAdam said on the company's earnings call Friday.
In a statement, Seidenberg cited McAdam's "stellar leadership of Verizon Wireless and his outstanding 28-year career in the telecommunications industry" and lauded his "outstanding character, his conviction and his dedication to Verizon's success."
Daniel Mead, previously Verizon Wireless' executive vice president and COO, replaced McAdam as president and CEO of the carrier in October 2010.
McAdam was named CEO of Verizon Wireless in 2007. Previously he was executive vice president and COO of the company, a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone, since its inception in 2000.
Before that McAdam was president and CEO of PrimeCo Personal Communications, a joint venture owned by Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch. He also served as PrimeCo's COO, responsible for overseeing the building, deployment and successful launch of the new company's customer service operations and all-digital network.
McAdam has served as vice president of international operations for AirTouch Communications and was lead technical partner for cellular ventures in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Korea and Japan. McAdam joined AirTouch as executive director of international applications and operations in 1993. Prior to that, he held various executive positions with Pacific Bell.
He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of San Diego. He also spent six years in the U.S. Navy's Civil Engineer Corps and is a licensed professional engineer, according to Verizon.
McAdam is past chairman of the board of directors of the CTIA, the wireless industry trade association. In addition, he is a director of the National Academy Foundation, a partnership between business leaders and educators that helps high schools establish and run technical and service academies to better prepare students for college and careers.
