NEW YORK -- Dick Lynch has been named executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a new position reporting to Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl, effective immediately.

Lynch was formerly executive vice president and chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless since that company's founding in 2000.

In his new role, Lynch will be responsible for establishing and managing the overall direction, technology and planning of all of Verizon's networks -- Verizon Wireless, Verizon Telecom and Verizon Business. The CTOs in each of the business groups will continue to report to the respective group presidents and will be responsible for the day-to-day execution of their network deployment strategies.

"Dick has been the chief architect of Verizon Wireless' network leadership, and we are confident that he will bring that same focus to all of Verizon's networks as we continue to seize opportunities to strengthen our business," said Strigl.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)