Verizon Wireless’ upstate New York region has a new president. Chris Felix was named to the position on June 20. He succeeds Russ Preite, who had been president of the upstate region since 2010. Preite was named president of Verizon Wireless’ northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii region. As regional president, Felix will set the company’s […]
Verizon Wireless’ upstate New York region has a new president.
Chris Felix was named to the position on June 20. He succeeds Russ Preite, who had been president of the upstate region since 2010.
Preite was named president of Verizon Wireless’ northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii region. As regional president, Felix will set the company’s strategic direction and direct its sales, operations, financial performance, and customer relations in upstate New York.
Felix, in an interview, says he’s run all the different business areas that make up the geographic region over the course of his career. That includes retail stores, business to business, and indirect partnerships.
He says the experience has prepared him well to lead a region. Most recently, Felix was vice president for federal government sales at Verizon Wireless. He was responsible for managing sales and customer service, negotiating agreements, and ensuring compliance in working with federal government accounts nationwide.
Whether for business or retail customers, carriers today must be prepared to offer plenty of options, Felix notes. Customers are looking for packages tailored to their needs.
Felix began working in the wireless business in 1988 for Bell Atlantic Mobile. There was a time when that meant installing a phone in a customer’s car and that was it, he notes.
Now, selling wireless services means acting more as a consultant, helping customers understand their options and creating a program unique to them
“That’s the evolution,” he says. “We have to take our salespeople from being transactional to consultative partners.”
On the business side, that might mean working with companies with employees who want to use their own phones for corporate and personal use. Firms need to know that their internal documents and emails are secure even if they’re accessed on an employee’s personal phone or tablet.
Companies might look to pay for a portion of that employee’s bill as well, Felix says.
Felix also notes that smartphones are no longer brand new technology. Users’ have become more comfortable with them in recent years and so their demands are changing.
“People aren’t afraid of a smartphone anymore,” Felix says. “It’s really how do I manage it, how do I use it, how do I incorporate it into everything I’m doing.”
Data continues to drive the mobile marketplace, he adds. But simply granting access is not enough. It’s about quality, speed, and reliability, he says.
Felix previously held various leadership positions in corporate and government sales at Verizon Wireless, as well as retail sales and operations for the company’s Washington-Baltimore-Virginia region. He also served as director of corporate sales in the Carolinas and Tennessee region.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from James Madison University.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). The company employs 80,000 people nationwide and serves 93 million retail customers.
Verizon Wireless has more than 2,500 employees in the upstate region.
