Verizon Appoints Margo Hammar to Direct Company's Industry-Leading Privacy Efforts

NEW YORK - Verizon has appointed Margo Hammar to succeed David Valdez in directing the company's industry-leading privacy efforts.

Hammar, formerly a director on the company's State Regulatory Matters team in Arlington, Va., will be responsible for articulating and ensuring ongoing compliance with Verizon's privacy principles and identifying all privacy laws, regulations, industry policies and consumer trends affecting the company, its employees and customers.

In 1994, Verizon predecessor company NYNEX became one of the first major companies in the United States to appoint a chief privacy officer, beginning a decade of Verizon leadership in privacy - an issue of vital importance to consumers and corporations. Verizon was also one of the first companies to develop and then publish on its Web site a discrete set of privacy principles aimed at protecting consumers' privacy.

Valdez was appointed as Verizon's chief privacy officer in 2001 and held that position for three years before being named vice president of public policy and external affairs for Verizon's Northwest Region earlier this year.

Jeff Ward, Verizon's senior vice president for compliance, said, "I know that privacy is and will continue to be a critical issue for consumers everywhere, which is why we have for the last decade taken a leadership role in making sure we pay close attention to privacy matters as part of our day-to-day operations. I look forward to Margo's leadership in this area."

Hammar said, "As Verizon continues as an industry leader in the creation of new communications services to better serve our customers, an unwavering focus on customer privacy will continue to be an integral part of what we do. We have made a commitment to our customers to conduct business in accordance with our privacy principles and, at the same time, we remain diligent in ensuring that our principles continue to address emerging privacy concerns."

Hammar assumes the role of chief privacy officer after working for Verizon for 18 years. Prior to joining GTE, another Verizon predecessor company, as a financial analyst in 1986, she worked in corporate lending for a bank that is now part of Bank of America. She then held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in GTE's Strategic Planning, Revenue and Earnings, and State Regulatory departments. She was appointed GTE's chief lobbyist and government relations director for Florida in 1997. In 1999, she joined the company's national state regulatory team in the Washington, D.C., area. In 2000, she became chief of staff for Verizon's senior vice president of public affairs and two years later was appointed a director in the company's State Regulatory Matters group in Arlington, Va.

Hammar received a bachelor's degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of South Florida.

A Dow 30 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services, with approximately $68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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