Ivan Seidenberg, the vice chairman, president, chief operating officer and chairman-designate of Bell Atlantic who spearheaded the recent merger between his company and NYNEX, will be at MIT to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the communications industry on Friday, Sept. 19 at noon in Kresge Auditorium.
The 90-minute presentation, entitled "Meeting the Next Challenge: A Millennium Defined by Technology," is part of the Industry Leaders in Technology and Management lecture series, co-sponsored by the School of Engineering and the Sloan School of Management and hosted by the Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development.
In April 1996, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic announced their $23 billion merger, which was approved by the Federal Communications Commission in August 1997. By the end of 1998, Mr. Seidenberg will be chairman and CEO of Bell Atlantic, with operations in 13 states, Washington, DC and 21 countries, with almost 142,000 employees. Bell Atlantic is now the country's second-largest communications company and expects to expand into new markets such as long distance, data, Internet and video services.
Mr. Seiden-berg began his communications career 30 years ago at New York Telephone. He held various leadership positions including vice chairman of NYNEX, responsible for the Telecommunications Group; president of NYNEX Worldwide Information and Cellular Services Group; and vice president of NYNEX Government Affairs in Washington. Under his leadership, NYNEX produced more than two years of double-digit earnings growth and expanded into markets including Asia.
Mr. Seidenberg's work to provide electronic access to young people led to NYNEX's relationship with The New York Hall of Science, The National Urban League and Pace University, on which boards he also serves. He is also on the board of directors of The Museum of Television and Radio and several other companies, and he is chairman of the FCC's Network Reliability and Interoperability Council and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
The lecture is open to the MIT community. For more information, call x3-0404 or refer to the CTPID home page.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 10, 1997.
