Verizon COO Strigl to retire by year-end

Verizon Communications COO Denny Strigl will retire by the end of the year, ending his 41-year career in the communications sector, the company said. Verizon did not name an immediate successor.

Strigl, 63, reports directly to Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg and was formerly the president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, which Verizon jointly owns with Vodafone. He became COO of Verizon Communications on Jan. 1, 2007, and Lowell McAdam took the helm of Verizon Wireless. As COO, Strigl is in charge of operations for all of Verizon's network-based businesses, including Verizon Wireless, Verizon Telecom and Verizon Business. He also runs Verizon Services Operations, which provides financial, real estate and other services to all of the company's operations. 

Verizon's landline business has slowed under Strigl's tenure as more customers drop landlines in favor of mobile phones. Meanwhile, the carrier's wireless business has boomed, and Verizon Wireless is now the largest carrier in the United States, with around 87.7 million subscribers (thanks largely to its acquisition of Alltel).

Strigl has had positions at AT&T, Wisconsin Telephone, Ameritech Mobile Communications and other firms. He also served as chairman of the board of CTIA.

This is the second C-level shakeup at Verizon this year. In February, Verizon Communications' CFO Doreen Toben retired, and was replaced in March by John Killian, who had been president of Verizon Business. 

Verizon Communications reported income of $1.48 billion in its most recent quarter, down 21 percent from $1.88 billion a year earlier. However, its wireless division had a strong quarter, with Verizon Wireless' revenues totaling $15.5 billion, up 27.7 percent over the second quarter of last year, when Verizon had $12.1 billion in wireless revenues.

For more:
- see this release [1]

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