Who

Ivan Seidenberg is the CEO of telecom giant Verizon, New York City's fifth-largest employer.

Backstory

A Bronx native who worked as an assistant cable splicer for New York Telephone in his youth (a fact that never fails to make his bios), Seidenberg was wounded in Vietnam and joined the New York Telephone fold full-time after his return from war, attending classes at CUNY by night. In the wake of AT&T's breakup in 1984, he was appointed chief of NYNEX's Washington regulatory office; by 1994, he'd worked his way up to the CEO suite. After NYNEX's massive $25 billion merger with Bell Atlantic, and then Bell Atlantic's even more massive $53 billion acquisition of GTE (which created the company we now know as Verizon), Seidenberg became the company's chief executive. In 2006, the company expanded further when Seidenberg agreed to pay $8.5 billion for MCI. Today Verizon is one of the largest companies in the area, with more than 200,000 employees. An additional 69,000 employees work at Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone.

Of note

Like its larger rival AT&T, Verizon now faces the challenge of transitioning from a landline-driven phone company to a more multifaceted communications company offering internet, mobile, and television services. The transition hasn't been cheap—Verizon has spent more than $5 billion rolling out fiber wire in New York, California, and several other states—which is why Seidenberg has been fighting net neutrality, hoping to stick consumers and/or content providers with the bill. But while the company's broadband and wireless divisions are expected to grow, its core wireline business continues to ail. Verizon may be in for a major cash infusion, though. There's long been talk that Vodafone is considering a deal to buy Verizon's stake in Verizon Wireless for as much has $160 billion.

Keeping score

Known as a close-to-the-vest operator, Seidenberg has drawn criticism for his large pay package. He collected $21.3 million in compensation in 2006.

Pet causes

In 2006 Seidenberg donated $15 million to Pace—which is where he earned his MBA—to fund a computer science program.

True story

In a 2005 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Seidenberg complained that customers expect too much from their wireless service. "Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?" he asked the paper.

Personal

Seidenberg and his wife, Phyllis, have a daughter named Lisa. The Seidenbergs live in the East 60s and have additional homes in West Nyack and West Palm Beach.