CFO Intelligence Magazine – Fall 2021
Matt Ellis
Verizon, EVP and CFO
The pandemic drove uncertainty, but Verizon had the confidence to complete M&As and a spinoff during the pandemic because we had solid business operations and a strong balance sheet.
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred a series of disruptions, including significant restrictions on in-person meetings that helped to drive a dive in M&A activity — down 30% in the U.S. and Canada during 2020, according to S&P Global Intelligence. ut Verizon, the top-tier provider of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services, took the shakeup in stride while maintaining protections for employees, customers and other partners. CFO Intelligence spoke with Verizon executive vice president and CFO Matt Ellis to find out how the globe-straddling company moved ahead during uncertain times without missing a beat.
ADVANCING DESPITE THE DISRUPTION
Considering what was going on a year ago, people would be surprised at what we’ve been able to accomplish in the M&A space,” he says. “M&As traditionally were done face to face, but we — along with everyone else had to quickly learn new, remote approaches. Certain aspects were more of a challenge; for example we had to rethink walkthroughs, which are now conducted largely by video. But video collaboration platforms like Blue[1]Jeans help a lot. Communication is as important as ever, if not more so; and the fact that some of our M&As were already in-progress when the pandemic struck meant that the basic relationship elements, at least, were already in place.