Biographical Summary

Diercksen's long and varied executive career has taken him from insurance (Insurance Company of North America) to women's undergarments (Playtex) to cans (American Can Company) to games (Coleco). He got his start in telecom in 1997, working in Bell Atlantic's directories division before coming to Verizon Communications' Investor Relations department when the company was formed in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Today he is responsible for key strategic initiatives related to the review and assessment of potential mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Since assuming responsibility for overall company strategy in 2003 (he held the position of EVP, Strategy, Planning & Development until 2012), Diercksen has been instrumental in forging Verizon's strategy of technology investment and repositioning its assets through the acquisition of Spectrum, the merger with MCI, the Alltel acquisition, the restructuring of international assets, and the spin-off of Verizon's directories unit and landline assets.