Verizon Communications Inc. said Manon Brouillette, the executive in charge of the wireless company’s consumer business, has stepped down from the role she has held since January as subscriber growth continues to trail peers.
(Bloomberg) — Verizon Communications Inc. said Manon Brouillette, the executive in charge of the wireless company’s consumer business, has stepped down from the role she has held since January as subscriber growth continues to trail peers.
The division was formed in 2019 as part of a reorganization under Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg. He has assumed responsibility for leading the business after Brouillette’s departure and will be focused on aligning operational results with the “top quality network product,” the company said.
Verizon, the largest US wireless provider, has been lagging behind peers AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc. on subscriber growth for the past two years. Brouillette was the second consumer chief during that time and had been unable to put together a compelling offer to compete with AT&T’s free phone for new and existing customers, which has driven growth there.
Brouillette’s exit is unexpected and likely signals that Verizon is losing more market share, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Butler wrote.
Shares of Verizon slipped 1.6% at 10:05 a.m. on Monday.
“Apparently Verizon gave Manon one year to make a splash, and it ended up being more of a kerplop,” said Tammy Parker, an analyst with GlobalData Plc.
Vestberg, speaking at an investor conference in New York, said the company started to make changes after a bad second quarter. Verizon is on track for subscriber growth this quarter and the consumer unit is now “heading in the right direction,” he said.
Vestberg said 2022 is probably the low point for consumer growth but he says the progress he’s seeing this quarter shows improvements that will carry into 2023. Verizon will be “surgical” in how it raises and lowers pricing depending on the area, he said.
(Updates with analyst and CEO comments.)
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