In all, Seidenberg spent 16 years attending college part—time, but his career at New York Bell advanced somewhat more rapidly. By , he had been named assistant vice president for marketing, and two years later he was made vice president for federal relations. Known as the Bell System or "Ma Bell," it was the largest private business in the world until , when a decade—long suit instigated by the U. Department of Justice ordered the smaller Bell companies to form seven regional holding companies, known as the "Baby Bells.
Seidenberg went on to serve as vice president for external affairs before being named president and CEO of Nynex in early Though the Nynex name had now given way to Bell Atlantic, Seidenberg remained chief executive officer, and continued to steer the company toward a more prosperous future. In a Management Review interview with Jenny C. McCune, Seidenberg hinted at the possibility of his company entering the lucrative wireless and long—distance markets—the latter dominated by names like Sprint and MCI at the time—and was an ardent supporter of less government regulation of the industry.
He used an analogy with roots in another large American business sector: "Years ago, people asked, 'What happens when everybody in America has a car? In some cases, they may have three, whatever. Now we're finding people with not one, but two or three phones, fax lines. So, the intensity of changes is enormous. Seidenberg was instrumental in another momentous telecom deal: a merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE, a leader in wireless communications and Internet networks, that was completed in The new entity was renamed Verizon Communications, and became the largest telecommunications company in the United States.
Though there were some initial snags in attaining seamless service nationwide, Verizon proved an immediate success story, "the first of the old regional Bells that can legitimately claim to be a national company," noted Fortune 's Stephanie Mehta. Seidenberg was still keenly interested in expanding into all telecommunication sectors—from local phone service and high—speed Internet access to wireless data and entertainment. Moving into new territories was almost a necessity, for traditional "landline" users were in steep decline as the twenty—first century dawned.
But at the end of the 20th century, Verizon and the other Baby Bells watched their monopolies dissipate as they faced competition from the cable industry. Verizon remained the biggest of all the Baby Bells. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless, the company's joint venture with Vodafone, was the number one U.
As for the future, Seiden-berg bet on broadband. Hoping to thwart attacks from cable companies, Seidenberg fought back on broadband, investing heavily on the belief that customers would pay to bring the technology into their households.
Seidenberg, who grew up in the blue-collar Gun Hill section of the Bronx, New York, worked his way into the upper echelons of the telecom industry. Having failed out of college during his first matriculation, Seidenberg found few doors open to him.
He took a job with New York Telephone, climbing into manholes and splicing cable. But the country was at war, and Seidenberg was drafted into the U. Wounded at Khe Sahn, Vietnam, Seidenberg returned home a decorated war veteran and resumed work with the telephone company. While working in series of operations roles, Seidenberg was on a quest for self-improvement.
Attending night school for 14 consecutive years, he earned an undergraduate degree and an MBA. He rose to assistant vice president of rates and tariffs. At NYNEX he was vice president of external affairs, responsible for integrating all aspects of NYNEX's external activities involving public relations, corporate communications, federal government relations, and corporate advertising. Seidenberg was instrumental in reshaping the communications industry. But no one in the industry shifted the landscape as much as Seidenberg.
Beginning in he led a series of deals, including two of the largest mergers in business history at the time, that would ultimately link five major players under the Verizon brand. Ultimately the successor entity was renamed Verizon.
Seidenberg spoke about the business climate that drove both mergers: "There are tons of competitors, and we have to keep moving. We're like a car stranded on the Cross Bronx Expressway. Every time we stop for a minute, somebody takes off another hubcap" New York Times , April 3, In both mergers he orchestrated, Seidenberg sacrificed the top job in the merged companies. His choice helped the deals obtain regulatory approval and close more quickly than they would have had there been a power struggle.
Kennard, "He's a master board-room player" BusinessWeek , August 4, Lee of GTE. In both cases, an agreement was struck that would guarantee Seidenberg the top position within a specified period of time after the deals were finished. Commenting upon his decision, Seidenberg said, "Sharing responsibility for a three-, four-, or five-year period in the history of the world was not a big deal" Fortune , May 31, The goal of the newly created Verizon was to provide customers with one-stop telecom shopping, where they could get local, long-distance, international, and wireless calls as well as high-speed Internet access.
Said Seidenberg, "We're bundle freaks" Forbes , April 16, The bundled approach offered considerable cost savings—instead of enlisting cold callers to sell long distance, the company could pitch long distance to existing customers who called in with questions about their local service. What is more, a customer with bundled service was less likely to switch providers.
Still, the strategy had its detractors. Said Scott Kriens, chief executive of Juniper Networks, which made Internet protocol routers, "There are two worldviews competing here.
One is that you can be all things to all people. The only problem is that I am unaware of any case in history where that has worked. The execution of that strategy is harder than the declaration" Forbes , April 16, But he was never in a position to rest on his laurels. The rapidly consolidating telecom business faced a new threat: cable. David N. Watson, executive vice president for marketing at Comcast, the nation's cable leader at the time, said, "Phone companies would have to make hefty investments to catch up.
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. The basics. The details from wikipedia. As of , Seidenberg is also a part-owner of the New York Mets baseball franchise. United States of America.
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