Lumen appoints former Microsoft executive Johnson as CEO as Storey steps down
Lumen Technologies announced that former Microsoft and Red Hat executive Kate Johnson will take over for longstanding CEO Jeff Storey on November 7, making it the telecom industry’s second CEO turnover in as many weeks.
Johnson most recently served as President of Microsoft US from mid-2017 to mid-2021, where she headed a staff of 10,000 and drove revenue growth in the division’s solutions, services, and support. She was previously EVP and Corporate Officer at GE, where she was responsible for the company’s software and services solutions. She also assisted in the establishment of its GE Digital business’s sales, marketing, and service activities.
Johnson spent nearly six years with Oracle as SVP of North America Technology and Government Consulting business, and a role as VP of Global Services and Strategic Accounts at Red Hat.
The transition comes at a critical junction for Lumen, as it prepares to close the second of two multi-billion-dollar divestitures this year to streamline its business and ramps up work on an expansive residential fiber rollout. Her experience is also notable given Lumen’s recent push to transform itself from a telecom company to a technology company under Storey’s watch. Specifically, it has focused on revamping its physical assets, rolling out a new digital customer experience and stacking new applications and services on top of its infrastructure.
“Kate’s appointment and the strategic transition announced today are the culmination of a succession plan that Jeff and the board have been engaged in for the past several years,” Lumen Board Chairman T. Michael Glenn said in a statement. “We are confident she is the right leader to take the reins at this important moment in Lumen’s history.”
For his part, Storey is retiring after a 40-year career. He has served as Lumen CEO since April 2013, and before that was CEO of Level 3 Communications from April 2013 to November 2017 before that company was bought by CenturyLink.
His resignation represents Lumen’s second C-suite change this year. CFO Neel Dev was replaced in March by former Arrow Electronics executive Chris Stansbury.
Lumen is the second big telecommunications company to announce a CEO change this month. Altice USA named longtime Comcast executive Dennis Mathew to succeed Dexter Goei last week.