Verizon has appointed its CTO Hans Vestberg as its new CEO, taking over from chief executive Lowell McAdam on 1 August, as the firm prepares for a major drive around the imminent rollout of 5G.

McAdam, who has headed Verizon Communications — the parent company of Verizon Wireless, Verizon Fios, and several other telecoms subsidiaries —  for the past seven years, will stay on as executive chairman of Verizon’s board through the end of this year.

“For Verizon, the time for a change in leadership is now, and I am confident that Hans is the right person to bring Verizon through its next chapter,”  said McAdam. “Hans is an energizing force who will continue to position Verizon to lead the fourth industrial revolution — the emergence of technologies that blend the physical and the digital to create historic breakthroughs in connectivity and mobility.”

Vestberg, who served as Ericsson CEO from 2010 to 2016, joined Verizon last year, accepting a brief to oversee 5G development and the US telco’s ongoing fibre buildout.