Sowmyanarayan Sampath on business funding
From M&A: Balancing Narrative With Valuation · · Boston Consulting Group
“You also got to fund the growth because there's, you know, there's no free lunch. You got to fund growth.”
On , Sowmyanarayan Sampath, Executive VP & CEO of Verizon Consumer Group at Verizon Communications Inc, spoke about business funding during M&A: Balancing Narrative With Valuation on Boston Consulting Group.
About Sowmyanarayan Sampath
Sowmyanarayan Sampath, Executive Vice President and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, has spoken extensively in 2024 and 2025 about the integration of artificial intelligence into Verizon’s operations and customer experience. He described AI as "the only deflationary tool we have in our economy for the next two decades" and outlined three areas where Verizon captures value from AI: improving operations, driving better products, and participating in the AI ecosystem to generate revenue. Sampath highlighted the launch of "Project 624," which included a redesigned app and the "Verizon Assistant," an AI tool that can perform tasks such as checking bills and explaining charges. He stated that Verizon works closely with Google as an "R&D partner" and that the company aims to be "the best deployed conversational AI tool in the world." Sampath also discussed the impact of AI on the workforce, predicting that up to 40-50% of customer care agent capacity could be freed up over three years and redeployed to other areas. Sampath has also addressed Verizon’s M&A strategy, digital inclusion, and the importance of culture. He said that the company’s acquisition of Tracfone "went quite poorly" for the first three years because "M&A was the strategy," but that Verizon has since turned around the business, moving from "losing market share 13 quarters in a row to actually gaining market share for the last three quarters." On digital inclusion, he noted that 42 million Americans lack sustained internet access and called affordability a major challenge. Sampath described Verizon’s approach to localization, dividing the country into 55 territories and giving store managers flexibility to tailor their locations. He also stated that Verizon has an AI governance council and maintains a "human in the loop" approach to AI deployment.
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