Verizon names K. Guru Gowrappan Oath CEO
September 12 2018 - 2:00PM
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today announced that
effective October 1, K. Guru Gowrappan, who has served as Oath’s
president and COO since April, will assume all management
responsibilities at Oath as CEO. He will report to Verizon
CEO Hans Vestberg.
Oath founder Tim Armstrong will help guide the Verizon
subsidiary’s management transition efforts as a strategic advisor
before leaving the company at the end of 2018. He will report
to Verizon Chairman Lowell McAdam.
With the integration of AOL/Yahoo operations and ad tech
platforms nearing completion under Armstrong’s strategic direction,
Gowrappan, who joined Oath from Alibaba Group, will lead the next
phase of Oath’s global growth strategy.
Vestberg said, “Guru has proven experience in scaling businesses
globally. I’m thrilled he will lead Oath in an exciting new phase
of growth, building on the foundation Tim and his team have created
by delivering brands our customers love.”
In his former role as president and COO, Gowrappan was
responsible for the day-to-day operating businesses at Oath,
including all of the consumer and customer brands, operations,
products and technology.
As Alibaba’s global managing director, Gowrappan focused on
international expansion for key consumer and enterprise products
across ecommerce, entertainment and media, payments and the entire
commerce-enabling stack. Previously, he was COO at Quixey, a mobile
startup, and prior to that he was the COO for growth/emerging
initiatives at Zynga. He has also held several leadership roles at
Yahoo and Overture.
Armstrong joined AOL in 2009 and was named Oath’s CEO in 2017.
He has led Verizon’s digital media and online advertising platform
business, and the growth and development of iconic consumer brands
such as AOL, Yahoo, RYOT, TechCrunch, HuffPost, MAKERS and many
others.
“We are exceedingly grateful to Tim for his contributions in
founding Oath as a force in digital media and technology,” said
McAdam. “With his continued guidance over the next few months, our
enthusiasm for Oath’s potential has never been greater.”
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York City, generated $126 billion in 2017 revenues. The company
operates America’s most reliable wireless network and the nation’s
premier all-fiber network, and delivers integrated solutions to
businesses worldwide. Its Oath subsidiary reaches people around the
world with a dynamic house of media and technology brands.
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Media contact: Bob
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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
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