Nicki Palmer, a longtime Verizon executive, said she would retire from the operator in July after a 33-year career with Verizon.

"It is rare these days to find that kind of career longevity with a single company but I found it with Verizon," she wrote on LinkedIn. "I know what kept me here all these years… it was the opportunity to continuously learn and grow and work alongside the most talented people to bring the best technology to life with purpose. I feel lucky and extremely grateful for this front row seat during the rise of the digital age."

Figure 1: Palmer discussed Verizon's 5G deployment with Light Reading in 2019.
(Source: Light Reading)

Palmer has held a wide range of networking positions at Verizon throughout her career. In 2011, she became the operator's SVP of global network operations and engineering. And between 2013 and 2017, Palmer was Verizon's CTO, "responsible for planning, engineering, building and operating Verizon Wireless' industry-leading voice and data networks." Palmer also played a key role in the early development of Verizon's 5G strategy, including the operator's reliance on millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for early deployments.

During the past decade, Palmer has represented Verizon at a number of industry events, often discussing the company's networking technologies alongside her efforts to promote women to leadership roles within the telecom industry.

Since early last year Palmer has been Verizon's "chief technology ambassador." That's also roughly the same time that Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg has been working to rekindle the operator's fortunes with a handful of leadership shakeups.

Joe Russo is the new chief of Verizon's networking business, following the promotion of former CTO Kyle Malady to CEO of Verizon Business.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano