How long was Dan Schulman with PayPal? Everything to know about the newly appointed Verizon CEO

Verizon Communications has officially appointed Dan Schulman, the former PayPal president and CEO, as its new Chief Executive Officer, as the telecom giant moves into a new strategic phase. Schulman succeeds Hans Vestberg, who led Verizon since 2018 and will remain as a special advisor until October 4, 2026.

Vestberg will be helping the company as it goes through this transition, including its pending $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications.

From the year 2014 to 2023, Dan Schulman served as the president and CEO of PayPal Holdings, Inc. He also served as a board member from 2015 until his exit. Over the course of nine years in charge, Schulman managed PayPal's evolution from a digital payments provider to a major player in the worldwide financial industry.

PayPal's earnings per share climbed fivefold during his tenure, while the company's sales tripled, rising from $8 billion to $30 billion. Additionally, Schulman led PayPal through significant acquisitions and the global transition to cashless transactions, growing the company's user base by hundreds of millions of people globally.

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Oscar Health, said in the release.

“Dan is a seasoned and decisive leader with a unique set of experiences and a proven record of transformative leadership and operational excellence. He is the right leader to chart Verizon’s next phase of increased customer focus and financial growth.”

Prior to joining PayPal, Schulman had a number of prominent leadership positions in the telecom and technology industries:

• As the CEO of Priceline.com, he increased its sales from $20 million to almost $1 billion in only two years.
• He was also the founding CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, where he turned the prepaid mobile business into a prosperous one.
• Schulman also undertook roles as Group President, Enterprise Growth, at American Express. He was also the President of AT&T's Consumer Division and President of Sprint Nextel's Prepaid Group.
• Schulman also has experience in cybersecurity and risk management, having been a director at NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec) for over 20 years, including six years as an independent chairman.

Dan Schulman's vision for Verizon

Dan Schulman made it clear when he was appointed that he was committed to reviving Verizon's growth plan and that he had faith in the company's future:

“We have a clear opportunity to redefine our trajectory by growing our market share across all segments of the market, while delivering meaningful growth in our key financial metrics. We are going to maximize our value propositions, reduce our cost to serve, and optimize our capital allocation to delight our customers and deliver sustainable long-term growth for our shareholders.”

According to Verizon, Dan Schulman's experience in technology, telecommunications, and financial management fits with the company's long-term objectives of combining financial and telecom services.

In addition to chairing JUST Capital, an organization that promotes corporate performance and as Vice Chairman & Managing Partner of Valor Capital Group. Schulman is a member of numerous important boards, such as those of Lazard, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc.

Until the 2026 annual meeting, exiting CEO Hans Vestberg will continue to serve on Verizon's board of directors and provide strategic advice on projects like the acquisition of Frontier Communications, which intends to reach one million households with fiber coverage.

Vestberg is the man behind Verizon's 5G plan. Vestberg has expressed confidence that Schulman's leadership would guarantee "Verizon’s next phase of increased customer focus and financial growth.”

Dan Schulman is expected to lead Verizon into a new phase of digital transformation with an emphasis on innovation, efficiency and customer experience, thanks to his combination of financial, telecom, and operational experience.

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.

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