Udo Salters/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
- Verizon named former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman as its new chief executive, replacing Hans Vestberg.
- In a memo to employees, Schulman thanked Vestberg and laid out his initial vision for Verizon to “regain” its leadership.
- Schulman has previously held leadership positions at telecom companies AT&T, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint Nextel.
There’s a new leader at Verizon — though he’s not exactly a new face.
On Monday, Verizon named Dan Schulman as its new CEO. Schulman served on Verizon’s Board of Directors for seven years, starting in 2018. In December 2024, he was named Lead Independent Director.
Schulman is taking over for Hans Vestberg, who has served as Verizon’s CEO since 2018, the same year Schulman joined the board. In a memo to employees on his first day, Schulman thanked Vestberg for creating “an unmatched network and an innovative culture.”
This isn’t Schulman’s first big telecommunications gig. He’s spent 25 years in the business, per the memo. Schulman previously worked as CEO of Virgin Mobile, as well as president of AT&T’s consumer division and Sprint Nextel’s prepaid group.
Schulman is likely most known for his work at PayPal, where he served as CEO from 2015 to 2023. He was PayPal’s first CEO after it was spun off from eBay. Under Schulman’s leadership, PayPal tripled revenue from $8 billion to $30 billion.
In his memo, Schulman wrote that the “energy and potential” at Verizon reminded him of his time at PayPal. Schulman has also held senior leadership positions at Priceline.com and American Express.
Schulman started on Monday. Here’s the full memo he wrote to employees on his first day:
Today I have the honor of being appointed as Verizon’s CEO, and I could not be more excited.
I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Hans during my seven years on the Verizon Board, and I watched him create an unmatched network and an innovative culture. Hans has executed transformational investments that have set Verizon up for success, including the purchase of C-Band spectrum to power the company’s 5G leadership and the pending acquisition of Frontier Communications, which is a cornerstone of Verizon’s broadband expansion strategy. On behalf of the Board and everyone at the company, I want to thank Hans for his extraordinary leadership, unwavering passion, and eight years of transforming Verizon.
We will have time to get to know each other, but I most recently spent nearly a decade as CEO of PayPal as we grew from a payments company to a platform that opened access to financial services for hundreds of millions of people around the world. The lessons 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. The energy and potential I see today at Verizon reminds me of my days at PayPal.
My professional life started as an Assistant Account Executive at NJ Bell and I have since spent 25 years in the telecom industry. In many ways this is like coming home for me.
Today, we stand at an important moment—we are going to move quickly and boldly to win in both mobility and broadband. I fully intend for us to regain our leadership by growing share across all segments of the market, by consistently delighting our customers. At the same time, we must drive financial results that exceed current market expectations. We must also deliver for our shareholders.
The biggest competitive advantage we have is our team. Every day, we have to focus on what truly matters to our customers. We want them to trust us, love us and stay with us.
I’m looking forward to working with everybody to finish Q4 strong and build momentum for 2026. I appreciate everyone’s support and look forward to hearing from you and being part of the next chapter of growth.
Go Verizon!
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