Verizon Business boosts product and marketing groups with two new leadership appointments
Debika Bhattacharya has been named Chief Product Officer, Verizon Business, and Iris Meijer has been named Senior Vice President of Business Marketing and Revenue Operations, Verizon Business
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BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Business today announced the appointment of Debika Bhattacharya to the role of Chief Product Officer, Verizon Business, and Iris Meijer to the role of Senior Vice President of Business Marketing and Revenue Operations, Verizon Business.
Both leaders cite customer centricity as a top priority for their new posts.
“It’s thrilling to take on responsibility for the Verizon Business product portfolio at a time when 5G is making even the most data-intensive applications possible across mobile networks,” said Debika Bhattacharya. “I have two guiding objectives for this exciting new challenge: optimizing our portfolio for the most in-demand customer needs in the market right now, and innovating around new technologies that will help run the fully connected economy of the future. Ultimately it’s about offering our customers a product suite that will help them innovate, get to revenue faster, and serve their own customers better. It’s about delivering B2B solutions that help businesses grow and succeed.”
“I am so excited to be a part of this incredible team,'' said Iris Meijer. “Many have already heard me refer to ‘sisu.’ It’s a Finnish word that’s hard to translate but represents determination, courage, bravery, willpower, tenacity, and resilience. It is about having an action-oriented mindset, embracing change and ensuring the task at hand is done well, and with integrity. It also manifests in educated optimism. There’s no better way to describe our team, how we show up for our customers and how we will continue to deliver for our business against our vectors of growth.”
Bhattacharya reports to Tami Erwin, Chief Executive Officer of Verizon Business, and Meijer reports to Sampath Sowmyanarayan, Chief Revenue Officer of Verizon Business. Erwin and Sowmyanarayan issued the following joint statements:
“Nobody understands our customers better than Debika does, which she proved in her previous position as head of 5G & Enterprise Solutions. There she led the team that works directly with our customers to blueprint just the right product implementations for their needs. With that experience and her innovative vision, she’s the natural choice to shape a product portfolio that can exceed customer expectations.”
“Iris brings with her an infectious energy, natural leadership ability, and a strategic approach to marketing that inextricably links the function to driving revenue. In her short time at Verizon, she’s quickly shown an ability to energize customers and V Teamers alike. When you have a marketer who can simultaneously motivate buying behavior in the marketplace and selling behavior in the office, you can be sure you’ve got a winner.”
“Debika and Iris each exemplify a collaborative, cohesive, and customer-centric approach that would be invaluable to any business. In their respective new posts, they’re in just the right positions to supercharge Verizon’s path along our vectors for growth -- especially 5G mobility, nationwide broadband, mobile edge compute and B2B solutions.”
As Chief Product Officer for Verizon Business, Debika Bhattacharya is responsible for Verizon Business’ holistic product portfolio and its strategy and alignment with Verizon’s Network-as-a-Service framework -- including edge compute, software defined network, IoT and 5G services, global networking solutions, security, advanced communications services, and managed services -- and leads product management across all customer segments. Previously she held the role of SVP, 5G & Enterprise Solutions, Verizon Business, responsible for delivering 5G solutions and strategic business outcomes to Verizon’s Global Enterprise and Government customers and leading a team of 1,100+ sales and technology professionals across 20 countries.
As a seasoned global executive, Debika has extensive experience leading complex technology projects for Fortune 1000 clients, guiding successful IT transformations in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and financial services. She has held a variety of executive roles within Verizon, including an overseas assignment in Europe. She was instrumental in the global expansion of Verizon’s communications network, as well as the deployment of breakthrough optical wave technologies.
As Senior Vice President of Business Marketing and Revenue Operations for Verizon Business, Iris Meijer will lead all facets of digital, integrated, and product marketing for Verizon Business, including commercial operations, pricing, field marketing and events, customer lifecycle, digital media, analyst relations and more. Previously she served as Global Chief Marketing Officer for Vodafone Business, where she focused on transforming its global marketing function into a strategic and revenue-driving team. Before joining Vodafone Business, Iris was Vice President of Customer Marketing and Communications at Nokia, responsible for a globally dispersed team and their diverse digital, product and customer marketing strategies. There she worked globally where she led teams that generated over a billion dollars in revenues.
Today’s announcement builds on the company’s commitment to deliver network-as-a-service and supports its core areas of growth and innovation across mobility, nationwide broadband, mobile edge compute and business solutions with expert leadership.