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Verizon Names Regional Leader

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By RICHARD MULLINS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

TAMPA - Verizon Communications Inc. named a new leader for Verizon's lobbying and public affairs in Florida on Tuesday, amid a broad reshuffling of regional chiefs in the United States.

Michelle Robinson, who heads Verizon in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, will lead a newly reconfigured Southeast region, which will include Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.

Verizon splits the top posts in regional areas, with one person leading daily operations of the phone company, and another for public affairs and lobbying. As president for the Southeast region, Robinson will lead Verizon's public affairs and lobbying work. Suri Surinder remains senior vice president and general manager of the Southeast region, a post he was named to in August. Within Verizon, his post is considered a peer of Robinson's new role.

Robinson, who turned 40 last month, lived in Tampa earlier in her career and said "Verizon has the best employees and offers the best products in the Southeast market. I'm eager to get started."

She takes over as Verizon faces scrutiny by the Florida attorney general over lapses of Verizon's phone service quality, a probe that Robinson said is unwarranted and the company expects to fight.

Alan Ciampocero, who turned 60 in March and had the Southeast Region president post for five years, will retire after 20 years in telecommunications, including 10 at Verizon.

Ciampocero had led Verizon's public drive in Florida to add cable TV to its lineup of telephone and broadband Internet service, offered through a massive new fiber optic network to nearly every home and business in the region.

During that time, a string of local governments awarded Verizon cable TV franchises, and the state of Florida revamped its cable TV rules to give Verizon and other companies more leeway to compete with traditional cable TV companies such as Bright House Networks.

"I've been planning this retirement for some time, and I have a daughter graduating high school and it's just a good time," Ciampocero said. "Like the TV commercial says, I want to go do the things I want to do while I can still do them."

Ciampocero said he is building a house in the Colorado mountains and is writing suspense novels that he hopes to publish soon.

The executive changes are effective July 25.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at rmullins@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7919.

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