CEO exits aren’t accidents — they’re market resets
CEO exits aren’t accidents — they’re market resets.
Verizon just named former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman as its next leader — not because headlines demanded change, but because the system stopped generating meaningful growth.
It’s a return to Schulman’s telecom roots, though it’s been a long time: CEO of Virgin Mobile (2001–2009), President of Prepaid at Sprint Nextel (for one year in 2010), and President of Consumer Markets at AT&T (for less than one year in 1999).
The real question: can he translate those early-2000s playbooks into today’s network and data economy that is shaped by AI, fiber, and platform integration?
Before assuming this signals renewal, investors should ask:
1️⃣ What decisions will truly shift — where will authority move, and what will Schulman do differently?
2️⃣ How will capital be redeployed — toward legacy networks or toward new tech that redefines value creation?
3️⃣ How quickly must he prove Verizon can still compete in a world moving faster than its infrastructure?
If those levers don’t move, this isn’t reinvention — it’s CEO churn without momentum.
If you were underwriting an investment in Verizon today, what’s the first structural change you’d demand?
🔗 Read the insights: Verizon Names a PayPal Veteran as Its Next CEO — Why Telecom Stocks Are Falling