Verizon said that Nicola Palmer will now serve as head of the company’s technology and product development, reporting to Kyle Malady. Palmer was previously chief network engineering officer and head of wireless networks for Verizon.
Verizon officials wouldn’t immediately share any additional details of Palmer’s new role or her responsibilities.
The change in Palmer’s title stems from the reorganization Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg announced earlier this month. Under the reorganization, Verizon will be split between Ronan Dunne’s consumer-facing division and Tami Erwin’s business-facing division. Dunne, currently the chief executive of Verizon’s wireless business, will head up the “Verizon Consumer Group” that will include the consumer segment for both the company’s wireless and wireline businesses, including wireless wholesale.
Vestberg also named Malady as the head of the company’s new Global Network & Technology organization, the unit in charge of Verizon’s networks, including building out Verizon’s 5G network. However, Verizon hasn’t provided any more details about the structure of its network business unit, including whether some of Verizon’s top wireless network executives—such as David Small, Bill Stone and Sanyogita Shamsunder—might fit into the new structure.
Malady was named as Verizon’s interim CTO this summer shortly after Vestberg moved into the CEO position, taking over from Lowell McAdam (Vestberg himself joined Verizon as the company’s CTO in 2017).
Palmer, for her part, has long been a vocal representative of Verizon’s wireless efforts, and particularly the company’s move into 5G. Palmer began her career at Bell Atlantic in 1990 and has held a number of leadership positions across Verizon since. For example, she led the engineering and operations of Verizon’s FTTP network.
Verizon launched its 5G Home service in recent weeks in four cities. The service uses 28 GHz signals to beam internet services into homes, offices and other stationary locations. The company has said that 5G Home is the first of many offerings it will launch based on 5G technology.