In the past year, Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg has revamped his team of direct reports. With the hiring of Stacy Sharpe, that inner circle appears to be complete.
As EVP and chief communications officer, Sharpe will lead Verizon's global communications strategy, including corporate, consumer and business. A long-time employee at the insurance company Allstate, she replaces Jim Gerace, who is retiring after 37 years with Verizon.
“Her appointment is critical to our future as we look to differentiate ourselves and connect with the communities we serve,” Vestberg said in a press release. “Stacy is no stranger to building the reputation of a world-class brand. Her depth of expertise in corporate affairs and communications on the Fortune 500 stage makes her an ideal leader to position us for the next chapter in Verizon’s history.”
Sharpe’s roles at Allstate included field VP of Allstate’s Capital Region, helping lead sales and operations in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. She also served as VP of Federal Affairs, where she led efforts to shape and advance Allstate’s public policy strategy.
Her most recent role was SVP for Corporate Brand at Allstate, where she led corporate communications, including internal and external communications, thought leadership, financial communications, public relations and social impact.
“Verizon helps move the world forward by continuously innovating and enabling the connections that help people and businesses thrive,” Sharpe said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join the amazing team passionately committed to making the digital world work for more people in more ways. It’s an exciting time as we grow the business and shape and share Verizon’s transformative impact with customers, employees and shareholders.”
Changes in the air
Last month, Leslie Berland joined Verizon as EVP and chief marketing officer, assuming a role previously held by Diego Scotti, who is now at PayPal. Berland previously was at Peloton, Twitter and American Express.
Vestberg kicked off a series of management changes right about the time Mobile World Congress Barcelona ended a year ago, when Sowmyanarayan Sampath was named head of the Verizon Consumer Group and Kyle Malady was appointed CEO of Verizon Business Group.
Malady’s group recently announced the appointment of Jeffrey Hulse as SVP and group president of Verizon Partner Solutions, where he’s responsible for domestic and international wholesale revenue growth and strategy for Verizon Business, including marketing, sales, customer service and wholesale business operations.
In other leadership news, Verizon Business named Debika Bhattacharya as chief technology solutions officer, leading the new Technology Solutions organization. Iris Meijer, who held marketing roles at Nokia and Vodafone before joining Verizon in 2021, is taking on the role of chief product and marketing officer for Verizon Business, leading an integrated Product & Marketing organization.