Krista Bourne’s career at Verizon began in the mailroom, where letters from customers inspired a passion as she saw an opportunity to receive feedback and make positive change.
Bourne, now chief operating officer of Verizon Consumer Group, might not have imagined in-store lockers or interactive digital screens when she began working at the company 20 years ago, but she’s been a part of many store advancements over the years. Digital is now Verizon’s leading channel, and its teams are leaning into real-time marketing to drive shopper traffic and create demand.
“It’s no longer a question of will you embrace digital and omni,” Bourne said. “It’s a question of who will do it best, because it’s got to happen.”
It’s Bourne’s job to find a need and fill it. That means being connected to the community, an important business practice that requires building diverse teams to ensure new ideas are heard at the board room level. Company values are a direct result of feedback from employees.
“When you have a company the size of Verizon that has the role we have in society, we have a real opportunity to tap into our workforce values and make sure they get behind the purpose of connectivity,” Bourne said.
As COO, she finds two things to be most important: the opportunity to lean into omnichannel capabilities and personalization, and creating a work environment that empowers people through technology to find purpose in their work.
Verizon has spent years building cross-channel capabilities and the opportunity to personalize experiences is top of mind for the company. “We’re leaning into AI personalization and new channel innovation that’s going to allow us to really automate, really allow us to digitize and allow us to deliver the most effective and efficient experience for the customer,” Bourne said.
Tune into this episode to learn more about the customer-facing brand and how Verizon is making positive changes for employees and consumers alike.
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