Daniel H. Schulman
Summary
Daniel H. Schulman has been Verizon’s Chief Executive Officer since October 2025, after serving on the company’s board since 2018 and as lead independent director from December 2024. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai))
Biography
Schulman is a telecommunications, technology and payments executive who became Verizon’s CEO in October 2025. Before taking the job, he served on Verizon’s board for several years and was elected lead independent director in December 2024. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai)) He previously served as President and CEO of PayPal for nine years, where Verizon says he helped expand the company into a global payments platform. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at AT&T, Priceline, Virgin Mobile USA and American Express. At Virgin Mobile USA, he helped build a prepaid wireless business, while at Priceline he oversaw a period of significant revenue growth. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai))
Notable achievements
- Led PayPal from 2014 through 2023 and oversaw its development as an independent public company after its separation from eBay. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai))
- Verizon credited his PayPal tenure with tripling revenue from approximately $8 billion to $30 billion and increasing earnings per share fivefold. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai))
- Helped build Virgin Mobile USA’s prepaid wireless business before joining PayPal. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai))
- As Verizon CEO, initiated a broad restructuring focused on simplifying operations, reducing costs and improving customer experience. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/1aa299fc28b8e7211188f9b084d1048c?utm_source=openai))
Problem areas / controversies
- He took over Verizon while the company faced intense competition, slowing wireless-industry growth and pressure on customer additions. ([ebs.publicnow.com](https://ebs.publicnow.com/view/D25CA93D2ABB82474E0411271E748B0A1C53822F?utm_source=openai))
- His early turnaround plan included one of Verizon’s largest workforce reductions, affecting more than 13,000 employees and reportedly targeting about 15,000 positions; the scale of the cuts drew public attention and created execution risk. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/1aa299fc28b8e7211188f9b084d1048c?utm_source=openai))
- PayPal experienced weaker growth and missed some account-addition goals late in Schulman’s tenure, contributing to investor pressure and engagement by activist investor Elliott Investment Management. ([paymentsdive.com](https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/paypal-ceo-retire-at-yearend-board-succession-plan/642469/?utm_source=openai))
- Because his Verizon tenure began in October 2025, the long-term results of his strategy remain unproven. ([verizon.com](https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/executive-bios/daniel-h-schulman?msockid=067c43d19eb16f583b1355789f926e64&utm_source=openai))