Is Dan Schulman The Right CEO Choice For Verizon In The AI Era?

Could Verizon recover like T-Mobile has done over the past decade?

Everyone seems to be asking about Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and whether its new CEO, Dan Schulman, is the right man for the job with AI transforming everything? So, let us explore this question and the challenge Schulman faces today.

Schulman says he is focused on delighting customers with the best value proposition and customer experience. He wants to no longer be tech focused. Going forward he wants Verizon to be customer focused.

Does Dan Schulman — the fixer — have what it takes to re-boot Verizon?

This is what I have been recommending for every competitor for years. That is why so far, I like what I hear.

Now we wait to see if he can do it. As of yet, Schulman has not announced anything more than generalization yet. But he has been with Verizon for almost a year already. He seems to understand the problems they face.

So, what does Schulman have up his sleeve at this inflection point for Verizon.

Wireless and telecom is changing thanks to AI and more

Once again, the wireless and telecom marketplace is changing with AI and other challenges. Then again, it has changed time and time again over the past fifty years.

Change and challenge is not new to this industry. In the past, the secret to success was finding the right CEO for the time. Sometimes carriers got it right. Other times, not so much. What about this time?

What is new and different this time is the increasingly important role Artificial Intelligence is playing.

So much so, that I believe all competitors need leadership with a fresh eye on AI integration and creativity, along with understanding how the industry has changed and will continue to do so.

Verizon has been struggling to restart solid growth for more than a decade

First Verizon. Their problem is not new. They have been wrestling with it for more than a decade. Long before AI raised its head, promising to rewrite every industry.

As I recall, the last time Verizon showed solid growth was under CEO Ivan Seidenberg who retired in 2011. That is quite a long time. Through the next couple of CEOs, they continued to struggle in order to find growth.

Don't get me wrong, Verizon remains the largest competitor in the wireless and telecom space. That means something. Growth, well that is another story.

However, today the wireless industry looks much different. New challenges, new risks and new opportunities. And that change wave continues.

T-Mobile also had a growth problem and came out the other end

This kind of growth problem happens from time to time. It happened with T-Mobile until roughly a decade ago.

That is when a new CEO named John Legere took charge and finally cracked the code. This put them back on the growth track.

The secret is finding the right CEO for the time and the challenge at hand.

The good news is the same positive result could happen with Verizon. With the right leadership for this time, they could snap back just as quickly.

Is CEO Dan Schulman the right leadership for Verizon going forward?

The changes today in the wireless and telecom industries, continue to change and mature. These services remain a key for the growth of every other industry, every company, and in fact, the entire economy and even the country as a whole.

In addition to this, there is new technology called Artificial Intelligence, transforming this industry. Today, we are just beginning to see the amazing potential for growth.

•           AI could help networks find weaknesses, take them offline before the network crashes, repair them, then turn everything back on without the customers knowing what just happened.

•           AI can also help carriers create new services that can be revenue-producing.

•           AI can also help Verizon enterprise customers create and manage their own networks and new revenue producing services.

Who is responsible for growth through AI; the CEO or the CAIO?

Artificial Intelligence will likely be a real game-changer. However, the CEO is not necessarily an expert in AI. They focus on the entire organization. AI is the job of the CAIO.

There must be a high level of both compatibility and trust between the CEO and the CAIO. I believe today, these two may be the most important positions for a successful company going forward.

I have watched Dan Schulman over the past two decades. He has worked with and led several high-visibility companies like Virgin Mobile under Sir Richard Branson, American Express, PayPal and more.

He has streamlined processes and increased revenues and profits at the organizations he led.

Some Dan Schulman accomplishments include:

• As CEO of PayPal from 2014 – 2023, he grew revenue from $8 billion to $30 billion. He also increased payment volume to $1.5 trillion and expanded their user base to 435 million.

• He was founding CEO of Virgin Mobile USA where he led the company from launch in 2002, to becoming a public company in 2007, then sold to Sprint Nextel in 2009. He grew the company to over 5 million customers and $1.3 billion through a simple strategy of "no hidden fees". For his efforts, Schulman was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" for 2009 by Ernst & Young. 

• He also held senior level roles at AT&T, Priceline and more.

I have watched and been impressed with Dan Schulman over decades

So, can Dan Schulman make lightning strike once again? I have been impressed by his level of success and hope it will translate to Verizon.

Surely, the Verizon Board of Directors has been disappointed over more than a decade with the underperformance of the company.

Some new growth opportunities for Verizon lie in new sectors like private wireless and FWA wireless broadband

Now with AI, there is even more potential for growth, and failure.

The Golden-Age of wireless and telecom with AI is upon us

Verizon is still number one in wireless, but that is no longer enough. They need to show growth. Especially as this AI-change-wave rewrites the entire industry.

Today, we are entering what will be remembered as a Golden-Age in the industry. Some companies will succeed. Others will struggle. I believe it all depends on the CEO and the CAIO at the helm.

So, what about Verizon? I am sure Schulman wants to put the company back on the exciting growth path. Based on what I have witnessed from him over time, he has the ability.

So, the real question is can he do it today? Can he restart Verizon’s growth engines? Is he the right CEO for these new AI times?

I hope Schulman has what it takes to put Verizon back on track. Now we wait and see if he can make the magic happen once again.

Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.