Who is ivan seidenberg

He is married to Phyllis A. Maisel and they two children. Seidenberg — Biography - Starting from the ground up, Winners never quit. Navigation menu Personal tools English Log in Request account. Namespaces Page Discussion. Views Read View source View history. And we won't be standing still" BusinessWeek , August 4, Verizon began readying itself for an onslaught of competition, exploiting growth in newer businesses, such as wireless. Seidenberg had a formidable head start, having led a strategy in September to form Verizon Wireless, a joint venture with Vodafone of Germany.

In Verizon Wireless was the nation's number one wireless provider with more than 26 million mobile phone customers nationwide. Verizon's investments in the technology continued in as the company outfitted the Manhattan section of New York City with more than one thousand wireless fidelity hotspots. These allowed broadband subscribers near a Verizon telephone booth to access the Internet wirelessly with their laptops. Another project on the horizon was 3G, which would allow customers to make speedy online connections using their mobile phones.

As Verizon faced increasing competition from cellular phones and cable modem services, the company was also forced to take a closer look at its balance sheet. In spite of the fact that Seidenberg prided himself on having come up through the rank and file of the company, in December Verizon laid off 2, workers in New York and New Jersey, about 10 percent of the company's frontline repair and installation workforce.

These cuts were the first major layoffs in New York by Verizon, which at the time had 46, employees in the state, including those in its wireless division. Seiden-berg called the cuts unavoidable in a telecommunications industry that had been crippled by an economic slump, saying, "The union leadership is standing at a crossroads.

They can hold on to the old industry, and accelerate the flow of jobs and investment away from traditional telecom companies to the newer companies. Or they can join the fight for our mutual survival and help us find a new model that will help us preserve jobs and compete in the marketplace" New York Times , July 31, By the end of the company had lost nearly two million lines to the defection of consumers and businesses to such alternatives as wireless and telephone via cable TV wires.

In May Seidenberg gathered his top managers for an emergency meeting, instructing them to cut costs so that the company could invest in newer businesses and match price cuts by competitors. He gave awards to employees who could find the biggest savings. One immediate focus was the company's wholesale business, in which it leased its lines at reduced rates to other companies that wanted to offer local phone service. Baby Bells were once accused of stalling this process—after all, they would rather sell the service themselves—but in a new regulatory arena, they faced fines if they did not meet requirements for fair and speedy access.

At Verizon each of the wholesale orders traditionally took about an hour. The orders arrived by fax, and then employees manually entered the details into the company's systems. Next they would send the orders back so that customers could check them for accuracy. That route, which was repeated thousands of times a year, was eliminated. In its place was a more direct process in which Verizon allowed its customers to access its computer directly and place the orders themselves.

Said Tom Maguire, who oversaw Verizon's wholesale operations, "It's cheaper to get a machine. Machines don't call in sick and are consistent in quality" Wall Street Journal , May 28, As a result of the change, Verizon was processing more than 92 percent of its orders automatically through proprietary software it had developed. The system was so easy to use that Verizon was able to train several temporary workers, whom they hired because of a threatened strike, to use it in a week and a half.

Training the old way took more than a year. As Verizon continued to lose traditional customers, Seiden-berg remained focused on transforming the industry. In Verizon became the first Baby Bell to offer the now ubiquitous flat-rate plans that offered unlimited long-distance and local calls.

Not long after, every other Baby Bell introduced its own plan. Said Seidenberg, "When you're the market leader, part of your responsibility is to reinvent the market" BusinessWeek , August 4, Seidenberg's biggest move by far was his aggressive push into the broadband market. According to him, the age-old telecom model was completely obsolete.

The future relied on what he called a "broadband industry" that offered consumers video and voice features with the potential of transforming the way various demographics accomplished everyday tasks.

For example, high school students could use the technology to download a missed algebra class while doctors could use state-of-the-art videoconferencing to communicate with patients in rural areas. Said Seidenberg, "The cable industry focuses on entertainment and games. The broadband industry will focus on education, health care, financial services, and essential government services.

I think over the next five to 10 years, you will see five, six, seven [segments of the economy] reordering the way they think about providing services" BusinessWeek , August 4, In Seidenberg backed up his vision of the future by announcing a multibillion-dollar initiative to bring high-speed fiber lines into millions of customers' homes.

Those lines could one day carry television programs, allowing Verizon to compete with cable companies. At the January Consumer Electronics Show, Seidenberg declared that his investment would be the start of the "all-broadband, all-the-time lifestyle" Fortune , May 31, Bush named Seidenberg to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, [4] which advises the president on communications issues related to national security, emergency preparedness and the protection of critical infrastructure.

In , Seidenberg joined Perella Weinberg Partners , a premier boutique investment banking firm, as an advisory partner. Seidenberg continues his involvement in wireless communication technology businesses as a member of Ingenu 's board of directors. Seidenberg and his wife, Phyllis, have two adult children and reside in the New York City suburbs.

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