Dennis F. Strigl

Overview

Dennis F. Strigl is executive vice president of Verizon Communications, and president and CEO of its domestic wireless business, Verizon Wireless, which includes the U.S. assets of Bell Atlantic, GTE and Vodafone AirTouch. Prior to the Bell Atlantic / GTE merger in July 2000, Strigl was president and CEO of Bell Atlantic Global Wireless. One of the most prominent architects of the wireless communications industry, he was responsible for the company's entire wireless portfolio, domestic and international. Prior to that, Strigl served as president and CEO of Bell Atlantic Mobile and Bell Atlantic Global Wireless. His experience provides a unique vantage point: from launching the nation's first cellular telephone network and managing two of the largest cellular mergers in the industry, to overseeing day to day operations of one of the world's preeminent wireless portfolios. As CEO of Bell Atlantic Mobile, Strigl established an entrepreneurial culture that minimized corporate bureaucracy, focused on making wireless communications easy to buy and easy to use for consumers, and fueled the company's rapid growth. He also initiated the company's "Wireless at Work" community service program, a philanthropic effort to enhance local quality of life by improving safety, security and emergency communications through wireless products and services. Strigl has served in a senior management capacity in the telecommunications industry for more than twenty-five years. He joined Bell Atlantic in 1989, serving as vice president-product management for Network Services and later as vice president-operations and chief operating officer. He was named president and CEO of Bell Atlantic Mobile in 1991, and oversaw its merger with Metro Mobile CTS, the largest cellular acquisition of its day. He subsequently was named president and CEO of the combined Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile when those two companies merged in 1995. Strigl began his telecommunications career in 1968 with New York Telephone Company, and subsequently held key positions at AT&T and Wisconsin Telephone Company before becoming vice president of American Bell, Inc. He became president of Ameritech Mobile Communications, where he was instrumental in launching the nation's first cellular telephone network. He later served as president and chief executive officer for Applied Data Research Inc. Strigl is past chairman of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) and is a current member of the national association's board. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of ANADIGICS, Inc., PNC Financial Services Group, and PNC Bank-National Association. Strigl holds a degree in business administration from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, NJ. Effective January 1, 2007, Dennis F. Strigl will become President and Chief Operating Officer of Verizon Communications Inc.