- In a surprise move, Abdu Mudesir stepped down from DT in March 2026
- He had been the head of product technology and development at the German operator for less than one year
- Now, German pub Handelsblatt is reporting that Mudesir will take over from Joe Russo at Verizon upon Russo’s retirement
When Abdu Mudesir suddenly stepped down from his role as head of product technology and development at Deutsche Telekom, speculation swirled around where he would resurface. DT’s press release at the time stated he was leaving to take on a “professional role abroad.”
That role abroad is at Verizon, according to German pub Handlesblatt. Verizon confirmed that Mudesir will start at the end of Q1 2027, and replace Joe Russo, who will be retiring in the coming months. Verizon also provided Fierce with a statement from Schulman to employees notifying them of the news (provided below).
Mudesir, who joined DT in 2018, took over as the head of DT in September 2025, replacing Claudia Nemat, who left after 14 years at the German operator. At the time of Nemat's departure, analyst John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, speculated that she left because she wasn't going to be named DT CEO anytime soon.
When Mudesir left DT, Strand speculated that he had "been fired," but instead it appears to be due to something far more exciting — he's headed to one of the company's biggest competitors: Verizon.
Verizon's Schulman quietly making big moves
Verizon's new-ish CEO Dan Schulman has been quietly making moves to right the ship after the departure of Hans Vestberg. Schulman, who hails from PayPal and Virgin Mobile, moved out Sowmyanarayan Sampath at the end of the first quarter. Sampath had been largely expected to be the next CEO. Instead he was pushed out and replaced by Alfonso Villanueva, who Schulman worked with at PayPal.
With the operator set to lose Joe Russo to retirement in the coming months, Schulman seems to have pulled an ace out of his sleeve with Mudesir.
According to his bio, which is still posted on DT's site, Mudesir focused on "digital transformation, the impact of new technologies like AI on business models, our work and lives, product and technology innovation, as well as security and crisis management."
Before joining DT's Board of Management, he had been CTO of Deutsche Telekom AG, where he leading technology strategy, architecture and innovation, and vendor management. And before DT, he was VP of 5G Europe for Huawei Technologies.
Verizon provided a statement to employees from Schulman on Russo's retirement and Mudesir's hiring. In that statement Schulman said:
"Joe Russo and I have been talking for some time about his desire to retire after over 30 years of dedication and commitment to Verizon. We have conducted a thorough global search and I am thrilled to share that Abdu Mudesir will be joining our team as Verizon’s EVP & President of Global Networks, Platforms & Technology."
He continued," Abdu is a visionary leader who most recently served as a Board Member for Product and Technology at Deutsche Telekom, where he was instrumental in building their 5G capabilities and scaling a fiber architecture. With a doctorate in electrical engineering and a career that spans over 15 years of driving innovation at global technology companies, he brings a rare combination of deep technical skillset and global operational expertise. He is a recognized pioneer in Open RAN, cloud infrastructure, and AI-driven network automation; technologies that are critical to our next chapter of growth."
This story was updated on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 1:40 p.m., to include the above statement to employees from Schulman, and confirm Mudesir's start date.