Published October 2002

People, results are focus
of Verizon NW president

Snohomish County Business Journal/KIMBERLY HILDEN “I am very results oriented, but I also believe in getting it done through the people,” said Sheila Lau, the new president of Verizon Northwest.

Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

As Verizon Communications' new Northwest president, Sheila Lau knows where her greatest strength lies — and it’s not in her 21 years with the telecommunications company or her MBA and law degrees.

“I think my biggest strength is the people who work for us,” said Lau, who was based in Dallas, Texas, overseeing Verizon’s business and consumer repair centers in the Midwest, South and West before replacing David Magnant in early September.

Describing herself as someone who isn’t afraid to “dig in” when there’s an issue to be resolved or a problem to be fixed, Lau characterized her leadership style as one that values integrity and communication rather than micro-management.

“I am very results oriented, but I also believe in getting it done through the people,” Lau said. “In the Northwest, we have a lot of employees with a lot of seniority, and they’re experts in everything they do.”

As president of Verizon Northwest, Lau is responsible for overseeing the customer service for and installation, repair and construction of 1.6 million phone lines in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and northern California.

To that end, Lau said goals for the future include expanding Verizon’s digital subscriber line (DSL) footprint in the region and growing the company’s customer base through an “out of franchise” service initiative.

The initiative, still in its early stages, enables Verizon to provide data-transmission services to large customers that are outside of the company’s traditional service area, said spokeswoman Melissa Barran. So far, three markets are taking part in the initiative — Seattle, Los Angeles and Dallas.

“We have customers who are based here saying, ‘We have faith in you, and we have offices in Wisconsin or Texas. Can you take care of us there?’” Lau said. “... I think the message there is that customers want to deal with one company, wherever they’re located.”

And they also like dealing with one bill, which is why Lau will be in charge of implementing Verizon’s service-bundling strategy in the Northwest, a strategy that will combine the company’s long-distance, local, wireless and Internet services on a single monthly bill.

“Part of (the implementation) is getting the billing system together and getting some customer feedback on what packages they like the best. Different customers have different needs, so we need to be able to offer them calling plans, usage plans that meet their particular needs,” said Lau, adding that implementation of the program, which has met with success in select East Coast markets, is expected in the Northwest sometime in 2003.

Another goal for Lau is to continue — and possibly step up — the company’s philanthropic activities, which include grants to nonprofit organizations through the Verizon Foundation as well as a matching program for employees’ donations to nonprofits.

“Verizon, as one of the largest employers here (with some 2,000 local employees), plays a significant role and can be a role model in corporate responsibility,” said Lau, a former board member for the United Way of Erie County, Pa.

“I think you need to give back to the communities where you live. Most of our employees live in Snohomish (County) or northern King County, so we’d like to be a part of it,” the new Everett resident said.

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