Sowmyanarayan Sampath

Sowmyanarayan Sampath is a senior executive with two decades of experience building and running large, complex consumer and enterprise businesses. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Verizon’s Consumer Group, a $104 billion revenue business with $42 billion in EBITDA, 130,000 employees, nine brands, and more than 8,000 retail stores, reaching nearly one in two U.S. households. He helped shape the long-term strategic direction of one of America’s most essential companies and led the $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, the largest telecom transaction in a decade, from initial due diligence through regulatory approval and full integration planning.

Sampath is that rare executive who is equally at home setting strategy in the boardroom and delivering results on the front line. As CEO of Verizon’s Business Group, he ran a $32 billion P&L across five business units and produced industry-leading wireless revenue growth for six consecutive quarters. As President of Global Enterprise, he led a $12+ billion business that served 99% of the Fortune 500 across more than 120 countries. He was also chosen to turn around Verizon’s $8 billion media portfolio, which included Yahoo, AOL, and HuffPost, reversing a steep revenue decline and cutting $500 million in costs before successfully positioning the business for sale.

Before Verizon, Sampath built his strategic foundation at The Boston Consulting Group, where he rose to Partner and Managing Director and led BCG’s Global Communications Practice, advising eight of the world’s top ten carriers across more than 25 countries. Earlier in his career, he was retained to advise the CEO of Apple on the commercial model for the company’s entry into mobile phones. Across his career, he has overseen more than $25 billion in capital programs, $4 billion in cost reduction, and the creation of revenue businesses now approaching $10 billion annually.

Sampath is an active public company director, currently serving on the Board of Canadian Tire Corporation (TSX: CTC), one of Canada’s most recognized retailers with approximately $20 billion in market capitalization, where he is a member of the Audit and Transformation Committees. He also serves as a Trustee of the Paley Media Center, a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Education Working Group, and a board member of Tech United NJ.

Those who have worked with Sampath describe a leader who leads with genuine kindness and humility, and who believes that the best results come from building teams with exceptional talent density and then trusting them to lead. He is known for creating environments where people feel ownership over their work, decisions are pushed to the right level, and high standards are held without sacrificing the culture that makes sustained performance possible.

Sampath is a sought-after voice in national media on technology, AI, consumer strategy, and economic leadership, and is regularly featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes. He is a frequent speaker at major investor conferences, including those hosted by Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and Citi. He holds an MBA in Strategy and Policy from Boston University, is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and earned his Bachelor of Commerce from St. Xavier’s College, University of Calcutta.