In the restructuring, Rory Cole – formerly CFO at MCI for EMEA – was named to head the international division as COO; operations have been centralised with headquarters in the UK at Reading. Verizon Business International’s new structure will include three main operating units responsible for Europe, Asia Pacific and Americas/Emerging Markets sectors.
Verizon says Cole also will head international sales and service activities, one of eight functional groups that also includes marketing (under John Irvine), operations and technology (Steve Hewson), finance (Mark Kearns), information technology (Mike Young), legal and regulatory (Craig Silliman), human resources (Trevor Severgnini) and communications (Edwart Lichtenauer).
Interestingly, each of these functional executives – drawn from comparable jobs at MCI and Verizon – will report to an executive counterpart in the U.S.-based Verizon Business umbrella group under President John Killian. Some also will be relocating to the U.K. "We're establishing clear accountability focused on customers wherever they do business,” says Killian.