Dan Mead is chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, the premier wireless provider with the nation’s largest, most reliable wireless voice and 3G broadband data network. In this role, which he assumed in October 2009, he is responsible for the company’s nationwide operations in delivering industry-leading performance for consumer, business, government and enterprise customers.

Before assuming his current position, Mead was president of Verizon Telecom, an organization of more than 70,000 employees delivering telephone, Internet and entertainment services, including high-speed fiber-optic technology, to millions of residential and business customers across 25 states and the District of Columbia.

In 2005, Mead was named president of Verizon Services Corp., responsible for managing finance operations, real estate and supply chain services for all Verizon companies. During his tenure, the unit received the “Best New Shared Services Organization” awarded by the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network.

Mead was one of the founding senior executives of Verizon Wireless in 2000 and served as president of the company’s Midwest area, a 15-state region that stretches from Pennsylvania to the Dakotas and from Minnesota to Kentucky. He has also held leadership roles in various telecommunications functions with Verizon and its predecessor companies.

Mead earned a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in quantitative business analysis and finance from The Pennsylvania State University. The University appointed Mead as a member of The Behrend Council of Fellows in October 2006, and he was named an Alumni Fellow in 2008.