An industry-leading tech and Fortune 50 Chairman and CEO, Hans Vestberg has served at the helm of Verizon since August 2018 and is the architect of the company’s “one network for all” 5G strategy. Verizon powers more than 140 million retail wireless connections, generating annual revenue of more than $130 billion dollars, the largest free cash flow in the United States telecommunications industry, and has a rising dividend for 17 consecutive years. Under Hans’ leadership, Verizon was first in the world to 5G and 5G Mobile Edge Compute. Since then, has pioneered the launch of 5G mobility and home internet, including the introduction of fixed wireless access to customers in the U.S. and the development of global 5G private network solutions for enterprises, governments and other organizations. Leading the world’s largest wireless, fiber-optic and global information networks and services company, he has focused on delivering mobility, broadband and cloud services to citizens across the U.S. and globally.
During his tenure, Hans has transformed Verizon into a customer-centric organization, while combining legacy networks into a one premier network for all customers. He has made several strategic acquisitions and divestments to set the company up for generational success. With all of the critical 5G network assets in place, he has developed a targeted and segmented marketing approach that offers maximum optionality to consumers and enterprise customers. Under his watch, the company has made bold moves like building content hub, +Play, partnerships with Disney, Discovery+, Apple, the NFL and the NBA and offerings that put customers in control, like myPlan, all while preserving the company’s award winning network technology with investments like the $53 billion dollar purchase of C-Band Spectrum – the largest and fastest raise in history.
Prior to joining Verizon, Hans executed the successful transformation of Ericsson from a hardware-focused manufacturer to a software and services company. Over 25 years at Ericsson, Hans ran operations around the world, including leadership roles in Sweden, China, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. before becoming CFO in 2007 and CEO in 2009, a position he held for 7 years.
As a leading industry voice in technology, global consumer businesses and the economy, as well as an advocate for global digital inclusion and equity, Hans has appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show, Mobile World Congress, The Economic Club of New York, and The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. Alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook, Hans introduced the world’s first 5G iPhone, and with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, he unveiled the world’s first mobile edge computing public network at AWS re:Invent.
Corporate and charitable leadership
Hans is a board member at BlackRock, the UN Foundation, and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative. He is Co-Chair of the New Jersey CEO Council, a coalition of leaders from the state’s largest companies. He is also the founder and Chairman of the The World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance for digital inclusion, which aims to impact 1 billion lives by delivering affordable, accessible and digital solutions in education, healthcare and financial services by 2025. Hans is a member of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network, where he helped author the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
A former athlete and semi-professional Team Handball player in Sweden, Hans is founder of the Jan Vestberg Handball Academy, named after his father, who was his handball coach for most of his sports career. Hans is also past chairman of the Swedish Olympic Committee.
Personal and educational background
Born in Hudiksvall, Sweden, Hans earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is married with two children and is fluent in Swedish, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.