Real-World Advice From the Top 50’s No. 1 CEO
How to Make Diversity
Management Real
Ivan Seidenberg,
chairman and CEO of
Verizon Communications
By Barbara Frankel
IVAN SEIDENBERG, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, the
No. 1 company on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity®
list, understands how opportunity and personal responsibility need to
intersect for maximum talent development. Seidenberg grew up in the
Bronx and began his career right out of high school, climbing into manholes
and splicing cable. After a tour of duty as a tail gunner in the U.S. Army
during the Vietnam War, he came back to telecommunications in a series
of operations roles. He attended night school for 14 years and eventually
earned a bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York and then
an MBA from Pace University.
Seidenberg was instrumental in transforming the communications industry, as he oversaw two of the largest mergers in history—the merger of
Bell Atlantic and NYNEX in 1997 and the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE in
2000 to form Verizon. His steady rise up the corporate ranks culminated in
his being named co-CEO when Verizon was formed in 2000 and sole CEO
since 2002. He was named chairman of the board in 2004.
He has never forgotten his roots or the need to reach out to ALL employees and customers. Seidenberg in 2005 donated $15 million to Pace
University to help its students. Pace now has its School of Computer Science and Information Systems named after him.
