Verizon appoints former Twitter, Peloton executive as CMO

Verizon tapped Leslie Berland as CMO and EVP in a move to revive marketing efforts for its flagging consumer sector, which recorded mobile phone subscriber losses for several quarters.

Berland (pictured) starts her new job on 9 January 2024. She will join the operator’s executive team and report directly to CEO and chair Hans Vestberg.

Diego Scotti served as the operator’s CMO for eight years before stepping down in mid-May, with EVP Rima Qureshi stepping in on an interim basis.

Berland served as Peloton’s CMO since January and previously held the same role at Twitter for nearly seven years prior to Elon Musk buying the social media company.

She was also EVP of global advertising, marketing and digital partnerships at American Express.

“We need a marketing leader with the foresight and vision to usher in a new chapter for the Verizon brand that reflects how we are growing as a company,” Vestberg stated while commending Berland’s previous work transforming companies’ marketing efforts to better connect with customers.

The operator appointed the head of its business unit Sowmyanarayan Sampath as EVP and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group in March in an effort to reverse the mobile subscriber losses.