By Supantha Mukherjee and Sheila Dang
(Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc
Some analysts had expected John Stratton, Verizon’s president of global operations, to succeed current Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam, who said he will retire. Analysts at Wells Fargo said in a research note the appointment of an executive with more of an equipment background was “very telling.”
Vestberg said in an interview the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier would keep pursuing its current 5G strategy but he did not “see anything new on the horizon” to pursue media content.
Vestberg, 52, joined Verizon a year ago after being fired in an investor-driven shakeup at Ericsson
Analysts had speculated whether Verizon will acquire a content company as rival AT&T Inc
At Verizon, Vestberg has led a team building out its fiber network infrastructure and was overseeing the build-out of 5G network in the United States.
“It’s a perfect time to hand over to someone of his caliber,” McAdam, 64 said in an interview. McAdam plans to retire at the end of the year. He will serve as executive chairman until then and then become non-executive chairman, the company said in a statement.
Verizon has gained about 40 percent of its $202.5 billion market value since McAdam took charge of the company on Aug. 1, 2011.
The company’s shares were down marginally at $48.75 in morning trading, on a day when a number of chipmakers and major technology stocks fell on reports Apple
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang in New York; editing by Patrick Graham)