Shankar Arumugavelu, 2014 Honoree

- Title
- Senior vice president and CIO
- Employer
- Verizon Wireless
- Location
- Basking Ridge, N.J.
- Skills you'll hire for this year:
- With the explosive growth in big data, Verizon Wireless is looking to hire data scientists. We see the value in adding positions that specialize in understanding how data is used and conducting research across various areas of the business.
- Coolest current project:
- The Omni Channel program provides a consistent experience for customers across all channels. This program leverages data analytics across multiple channels to provide suggestions and options tailored to a customer's usage and purchasing behavior. Verizon Wireless Destination and Smart Stores are part of this initiative.
- Quick ROI project:
- Share Everything was a multiyear project, initiated by IT, that culminated in the delivery of account-level data allowance capabilities for retail postpaid accounts. Customers can power a single device or up to 10 devices with unlimited talk, unlimited text and one shareable pool of data. These plans were so successful that in the first six months after launch, 23% of our customers signed up for this plan.