Jim McGean, Verizon Wireless’ president of the South Area and an Emory University alumnus, entered the telecommunications industry when the norm was a  2½-pound phone with a $3,000 price tag (plus an additional 75 cents per minute) and was relegated to the car. Twenty-one years later, cell phone service providers boast 95 percent penetration in the United States. Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless carrier, invests over $5 billion a year on its network and is the #2 seller of digital music in the United States.

Today, McGean, who majored in economics at Emory and later earned his MBA in finance from Georgia State University, oversees Verizon Wireless operations for all wireless consumer and business sales and revenue generation, full P&L accountability, multi-channel customer support, marketing and public relations and all other operations across 11 southern states.

McGean delivered a keynote address on October 16 during the Goizueta Business School Mentor Program’s opening breakfast. The event, held at the Four Seasons Atlanta, brought together mentors and their student protégés.

In a recent Q&A with Knowledge@Emory, McGean discusses how the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. (based on number of subscribers) is facing off against Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based services, harnessing converging technology and keeping the smart phone relevant in this new world full of “smart things.” 

Knowledge@Emory: How does a manager adapt to the ever-changing wireless landscape?

McGean: The fundamentals of management and leadership remain the same. The ability to align your team, communicate, listen and understand what’s going on in your business and execute very well is similar to 20 years ago. You’re still working with people. You’re still working with customers. While Verizon Wireless has 89 million customers, we have to take care of our customers one by one. To harness all of the change, a manager needs to be able to decipher what is important. We are in a highly competitive business and there are so many choices. The key is to prioritize and keep your eye on the major elements of the business for today and tomorrow’s success.

Knowledge@Emory: How does the current course for Verizon differ following several mergers?

McGean: Our recent acquisition of Alltel Wireless in January (2009) provided us with an asset portfolio that will allow us to compete more broadly for years to come. This is a very competitive business and some of the mergers over the years have really positioned us well in terms of now having the largest footprint and best spectrum in the U.S., along with the scale to bring a vast portfolio of products and services to market. We are in a joint innovation lab with Vodafone, China Mobile and SoftBank to create a robust platform of applications that have the potential to reach one billion people.

Knowledge@Emory: Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) has caused the demise of voice-only services of plain old telephone service (POTS). Is there an equivalent threat looming in the future for mobile phones, particularly with better data rates and availability of Skype, like SIP-based services?

McGean: It’s always hard to predict the future of technology. Our business will continue to evolve—remember green screens, voice only service, no texting, no cameras, no aircards? We’ve come a long way in a relatively short period of time. IP-based platforms continue to open up an opportunity for growth and change. I don’t see it as an imminent threat. As an industry we need to be rapid-fire competitive to provide the dynamic products and services that add value, whether it’s quality value or a different way to position a product. Even if some of the IP-based services become a commodity, it’s up to us to continue to differentiate.   

Knowledge@Emory: One of the key issues shaping the industry is convergence, with major technology companies like Apple and Google, cable companies, start-ups and established media companies all jockeying for a piece of the pie. How do you foster or leverage convergence?

McGean: Convergence is at the center of the evolution of our business, along with its products and services. How do we keep up with it? We listen intently to our customers. We understand what products and services they really want and need to manage their lives. However, we have to understand technology. The technology is so dynamic right now that the options to deliver to customers are increasing through convergence. Years ago, a voice device was hanging on your hip. Today, you can browse the web, watch TV, use navigational services to select a movie nearby and get directions, instant message friends, take photos and send them anywhere in the world and much more. We listen to our customers and prioritize what’s important to them. 

Knowledge@Emory: In the wake of Google's participation in Android, the freely-available mobile platform, how far should a carrier go to serve as an advocate for a platform?

McGean: I’m a marketplace advocate so I think the marketplace will ultimately determine that. As a carrier, we need to make sure we’re strategic, forward-thinking and competitive in what we bring to the market. Our mission is to offer the best services to the customer to help them manage their lives, be entertained and be productive. We partner with multiple platforms, including the Google Android platform. We sell the Research In Motion (RIM) Blackberry platform, Microsoft platforms, QualComm’s Brew platform. The marketplace drives the platform and what will thrive.

Knowledge@Emory: How do you serve both needs: individual election of privacy levels and trading information for "benefits?"

McGean: We’ve taken an industry-leading role to vigorously protect customer privacy. We take swift legal action when telemarketers attempt to violate customers’ privacy. We were the first company to oppose a wireless customers’ directory. We have to obtain a customer’s permission to share information, even with our sister business units. It’s serious business and we err on the side of always protecting a customer’s privacy.

Knowledge@Emory: At some point in the future, everything from smart transportation to smart vending machines will be the norm. Does the smart phone play a special role in this new world of “smart things?” 

McGean: The smart phone will absolutely continue to evolve, packing in more functionality to help customers do countless things. As the world continues to get “smarter,” machine-to-machine networking will be integral to our future. The smart phone can be your life’s control panel. For instance, if you have a smart phone, you might be able to control your home’s temperature from wherever you are. You will have a lot of these actions at your fingertips. Stay tuned!

Knowledge@Emory: What process does Verizon use to capture and integrate customer needs?

McGean: Verizon Wireless has award-winning customer service because culturally, we believe—with everything that we do—in managing customer experience by intensely listening to our customers and harnessing their needs at every touchpoint. 

In addition to bringing innovation to our customers, we work 24/7 to improve every day operations. While too numerous to name all efforts, a few actions under way include traditional market research, customer satisfaction surveys, and most important, Verizon Wireless uses a program called Net Promoter Score, where we survey millions of customers each year after a "moment of truth" transaction. Every one of those surveys is on-line, allowing us to track all follow-ups. It’s helped us to continuously improve and ultimately grow our business.

As a leader, it’s critically important for me to listen to customers directly. By being in our stores every month, listening to customers' interactions with our call center representatives, and of course being visible and interactive with our front line employees, we gain a wealth of direct insight. All of these efforts, with the help of our employees, have helped us to provide the best customer service in the wireless industry.