Connected Nation

Behind the 5G revolution: Verizon leadership on the company's role in shaping the future of connectivity

• Jessica Denson • Season 5 • Episode 47

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On today’s podcast, Verizon's CRO for the Global Enterprise & Public Sector, Massimo Peselli, joins us to discuss the technology of 5G including what’s myth and what’s reality. 

Plus, we look at how global leaders are tackling the issue of connectivity AND what’s on the horizon for new tech within the broadband space.

Recommended Links:
Massimo's LinkedIn
Verizon Business 

Jessica Denson (00:05):

This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband from closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds. We talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. For the last several years, 5G has been touted as the next wave in cellular networks promising higher speeds and traffic capacity. But some concerns have emerged from questions about coverage limitations to how large a carbon footprint 5G creates on today's podcast, leadership from Verizon Business joins us to discuss the technology of 5G, including what's Myth and what's reality. Plus we'll look at how global leaders are tackling the issue of connectivity and what's on the horizon for new tech within the broadband space. I'm Jessica Ensen, and this is Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Desen, and today my guest is Massimo Pelli, chief Revenue Officer for the global enterprise and public sector of Verizon business. Welcome, Massimo.

Massimo Peselli (01:08):

Hi, good morning Jessica. Thanks for having me.

Jessica Denson (01:10):

Thanks for joining us today. Where are you joining us from?

Massimo Peselli (01:14):

I'm joining you from the Verizon office in Baskin Ridge, New Jersey.

Jessica Denson (01:19):

I've heard you have a nice campus there.

Massimo Peselli (01:22):

Oh yeah, we're a pretty big campus IO all the way up to 6,000 people.

Jessica Denson (01:27):

Oh, wow. Are a lot of them back at work or is it kind of a hybrid situation there?

Massimo Peselli (01:34):

No, it's still trying to get back to the office. We have mandated our employees to be back to the office eight days a month. So the office is pretty busy on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, not so much on Monday and Fridays. So we're in a transition, I would say, but we have some bus on a few days.

Jessica Denson (01:59):

Yeah, a lot of us at Connected Nation are remote workforce and I can tell you there's something nice about coming together, at least occasionally for sure. It feels good to see your coworkers and connect, so I'm sure there's a lot of That's a good thing. Before we get into today's topic regarding 5G and what Verizon's doing, I really like to give our audience an idea of who I'm talking to. So I'd like to learn a little bit about you and your background. I know you're based in the US with Verizon now, but you began your career in Italy, isn't that correct?

Massimo Peselli (02:29):

Yeah, well, you can probably figure for my accent. I'm a hundred percent Italian. I grew up in Italy. I started my career with Verizon in Italy. I joined the company more than 25 years ago, and I had the privilege to do so many different jobs in Verizon, covering different countries and different geographies. And in 2013, Verizon asked me if I was open to come to us for three years experience. It was in the sunny South California, so I couldn't say no, and I started my career in the US at that time and then three years became five and seven, and then I changed different jobs and responsibilities over time and here I am today. I'm a US citizen, proudly a US citizen, and living in this wonderful country that gave me an incredible opportunity.

Jessica Denson (03:28):

I want to back up a little bit and break down some of what you just ran through there. What was it like growing up in Italy, growing? How does that differ from the US in your opinion? It's more than just food, right?

Massimo Peselli (03:41):

Well, yeah, it's definitely food than art, but much more. I was born in Milan on the north of Italy, which is more business side of a country. I'm an engineer by education. I has always been fascinated with the engineering matters. I'm an engineer in telecommunication. I don't know why, but I has always been intrigued by finding a way to let people communicate, to understand how people could get connected with technology. That was my passion and I'd be lucky in my career to end up working for a career which do that for a living. But yes, Italy is a great country, is a country of art, is a country of passion, is a country of generosity as well. People are very friendly and I think it's a good culture that I try to bring with me over the years.

Jessica Denson (04:39):

I really love that. You said you're a proud US citizen now. What was that journey like for you?

Massimo Peselli (04:49):

Well, I went with the flow, honestly, because again, I was supposed to stay here for three years and then Verizon gave me opportunity to do a lot of interesting jobs and I kind of feel that I could fulfill my curiosity for the business, my curiosity for technology, having a better playground to play with my ambitions as well. And I fell in love with the country, with the culture, with different personalities, different culture. It's a melting pot, pot of culture. And I think I could also learn from a personal perspective from so many people coming from different countries to different places. So I really love the country for pulling together so many people, so many cultures, so much diversity of thought into one place.

Jessica Denson (05:53):

So you said you started out in California. Are you now located in Basking Ridge, New Jersey where Verizon's headquarters are or are you in another part of the country?

Massimo Peselli (06:01):

Yes, yes. I try to stay as long as I could in California, but of, yeah, it was a great experience. Obviously weather is kind of unbeatable in South California, but most of my business is on the east coast and plus I have a global responsibility. So I travel to Europe five, six times a year, and then obviously it's the headquarter where I can have a greater impact on the business. So three years ago I moved from California to New Jersey and I'm now happily living in the garden state

Jessica Denson (06:42):

And having about 6,000, I believe is what you said, employees in the area. Does that mean it's kind of a Verizon town, you know what I mean? There's a lot of, Hey, I saw you at work today kind of thing

Massimo Peselli (06:57):

Going on. Yeah, a little bit. I don't live personally in Baskin Ridge for the exact reason that you mentioned. I live about 25 minutes from here, still in New Jersey, a little bit closer to the city, a little bit closer to the airport. So New Jersey is also an area which is very populated with a lot of finance people. A lot of healthcare companies are headquartered in New Jersey, so it's not just Verizon and I don't bump into too many Verizon people when I'm in my town.

Jessica Denson (07:33):

What do you like to do in your spare time when you're not in the heat of business every day? I imagine that takes a lot of your time, but what do you like to do when you do have some downtime?

Massimo Peselli (07:44):

I love spending time, outdoor, everything, which is outdoor. I like to stay in the middle of nature, so I like golfing. Not great at it, but it's good to go out. I normally walk, so you spend four plus hours walking. My wife is golfing too, so we can do that together. I like playing tennis, I like hiking, I like skiing in the winter. So anything which is outdoor, I like staying out, live in nature and brief, good air and oxygen and just to do something physical to clear my mind.

Jessica Denson (08:30):

It strikes me you're an engineer and math is really one of those kinds of things that's the same in any language. Is it the same for engineering?

Massimo Peselli (08:42):

Yeah, I think it is. It's quite universal. I've always been fascinated by numbers since I was five, six years old, I was trying to solve any possible problem. When we had the math test at school, I was one of the happiest person in the class because I could challenge myself into something else. But yes, I've always been fascinating in trying to solve problems, understand how to find something new and challenge myself.

Jessica Denson (09:19):

I'm struck when you said that my sister is a math genius and she would bring home extra math problems and I am fascinated by you because I am a creative and write and math just is difficult for me. Were you an only child or did you have any siblings that shared your love or are confounded by your love of all of this?

Massimo Peselli (09:42):

No, I have a brother, but he's an engineer too. So I think we are maybe kind of a boring family, but I try to compensate that with my love for art. I love art, I love music, and I probably love it so much because I'm not good at it. And so I'm really fascinated by the genius of the composers, of the artists, of the painters. So I've always been fascinated by art and music and creativity.

Jessica Denson (10:18):

There are some good art museums in the US too, but I imagine coming from Italy, it's everywhere. You probably just walk within it, different cities there. Yeah,

Massimo Peselli (10:28):

Yeah. You grew up with a culture of the art. Since you are six years old kid at school, they start taking you to museums. So the school has a big part in educating kids to art. It's a big part of any school program. So by the time you are 15, 16, 17, you have seen so many museums, so many pieces of art, so many culture, and so they plant the seed you when you're young and so you can live without it when you grow up.

Jessica Denson (11:06):

So when you talk about music, are you talking about the great composers or you really love modern music too?

Massimo Peselli (11:12):

You know what, I love everything from Jets, the Hard Rock, but I love a lot the opera as well. I grew up listening my grandfather who was a big passion of opera and listening the opera on the weekends, and so I hated at that time it was too much for young kids, but again, once again, it got into my ears. So when I grew up, I started going myself into operas and I'm in love with that. So I like any kind of music from classical music opera to the hardest rock you can imagine.

Jessica Denson (11:53):

So being in Jersey, New Jersey, you've got like Bruce Springsteen, isn't that a requirement I believe?

Massimo Peselli (11:59):

Yeah, John Bon, Bruce Springsteen. That's a good place for rock.

Jessica Denson (12:05):

Alright, a little bit about your education background. Where did you go to school for engineering and telecommunications?

Massimo Peselli (12:14):

I went to the Polytechnical Milan, which is probably was definitely the most, the highest rated university for engineering school in the country. So I've been lucky to living close to the university.

Jessica Denson (12:33):

And you've been with Verizon since 1997. What brought you to the companies you just liked their approach to technology or what was it that attracted you to Verizon?

Massimo Peselli (12:44):

Well, I started my career with the Italian carrier, Italian ptt, telecom Italia. But I always thought that my country, as beautiful as it is, was too small for me. So I've been fascinated by international companies. And so at the time, Verizon that was still work open new offices in Milan because they wanted to land into the country. And so I happened to know someone who joined the company and so I joined the company myself. I was number 13 in the company. Wow. Grew all the way to more than 500 people and I was one of the first and a lot of the challenge a lot that I parachuted myself into a very international environment because on my first week I traveled, I traveled to the Netherlands for European meeting, meeting people from every country meeting. Again, people coming from different culture, different language, different backgrounds. So I was fascinated by diversity. Let me say.

Jessica Denson (14:02):

Well, let's fast forward then to your current role as chief revenue officer for the global enterprise and public sector at Verizon Business. Explain in layman's terms what that role encompasses and what maybe a typical day is for you.

Massimo Peselli (14:16):

Yeah, my team is responsible to bring Verizon technologies to all public sector and global enterprise companies on a global scale. What we do for living is providing any type of asset. Verizon has from mobility services to internet services, cybersecurity services, contact center, collaboration, communication services, professional services to all the companies from every segment. And our mission is to bring technologies in service of companies who can impact people life. So think about healthcare. Every industry today is going through a big digital driven transformation. Every company is changing the way they engage with their own customers, the way they enable their employees, they streamline the operational processes within the company. And all of that is driven by technology. And a lot of what Verizon is providing is enabling their entire transformation.

(15:37):

I'm so blessed to see coming to life innovative projects in healthcare who can help and will help people to have a better service from the healthcare. My team is supporting public sector, public safety firefighters, police officers, people responding to disasters like hurricanes or wildfires. So we are bringing those technologies that help people on their normal life, but help people also on tough days when their life might be at risk. And so that's why I feel so blessed and so proud to be leading an organization which ultimately is helping people life and helping people to have a better life with technology.

Jessica Denson (16:31):

When I was prepping for this, your team sent me a quote about your style, your management style, saying Mamo fosters a culture of performance excellence built on Verizon's core values of integrity, respect, and kindness. Talk a little bit about why that's important, that performance excellence and also integrating integrity, respect, and kindness, which kind of came through with some of what you just said, but how do you foster that kind of environment?

Massimo Peselli (17:04):

Performance excellent for me is a given for every company. You have to aim to be good in what you do and to be performing well. And especially as I said before, if you do something which ultimately help people to have a better life, then it's even more important to perform well and give everything we have every single day. Now, there are different ways to achieve that goal, and I like the way of creating an environment where just people are happy to come to work because they feel that no matter how big the pressure is, we're still treating each other as human being. And so I think respect, kindness, integrity. Integrity is foundational for everything we do because integrity qualify us as not just as good professional but as good people. And then kind and respect is also important because there's a way to do the work and be successful and still having good time and still encouraging people when they need, need it, spend good words when people do a good job and not just give it for granted.

(18:28):

And again, if you do that, and I think people come to work and feeling good, feeling that they have a mission, feeling that they're not alone, feeling that they're well respected. And when you do that, you don't have just the performing people, which helps the team performance, but you also have people who feel encouraged to do everything they can. You take the best out of the people and people feel that they can express themselves. And when you have that, people continue to grow as professional and people. So I'm so happy when I see people who might have joined Verizon as intern who became Verizon employees and 15 years later they have leadership position in the company.

Jessica Denson (19:25):

That's wonderful to hear, especially in a corporation, to hear that there's that place and that's a foundation for you guys to ensure also that it's people that matter. I love hearing that. So the innovation piece for your team is focused on products such as 5G, mobile edge computing software-defined networking, cloud enable these big words. How do you approach which technology is best for a business customer?

Massimo Peselli (19:53):

I think the first thing when we approach a customer is to be a good student of their businesses, to understand the environment and the industry the customer operates in. So if it's a healthcare customer, understand the general dynamic of what's happening in healthcare, the biggest trend, the biggest issues of a healthcare company, and then try to understand a study that specific company, how the company is doing within the industry, and then openly talk to the customer. So we always try to have an initial meeting with some ideas based on our knowledge of the industry and based on the customer knowledge on how our solutions and our technologies can help that specific company to create a better experience for their customers, to have a better productivity for their employees, to create more efficiency in some of the internal processes. But a lot is really hearing and talking to the customers. So once you are able to create a good level of trust to show up as a valuable and proactive company, they open up because they think you care about their success, you care about the company, and that's when the magic happens. So that's where you start having a real open dialogue and that's where we also build the solutions together with our customers. Some of the stuff we have is not one size fits all. It's really something that we may tailor or we may build together with the customers. So based on their specific objectives,

Jessica Denson (21:33):

I promised our audience we would spend some time focused on 5G, which really launched globally about five years or so ago. Can you from your point of view, give us some idea of the basics of 5G, why it's beneficial and then maybe where Verizon is at right now globally with its deployment of 5G?

Massimo Peselli (21:54):

Yes. So we already probably seven, eight years ago before 5G came to life, Verizon has been one of the first company to really push the 5G standards and we understood right away the incredible potential power of this technology. Why is it so different from the other generations of wireless services? So a few things. So the first is the speed is the larger speed, which means that you can transfer information in a much faster way than 4G. Now if you think about downloading an email or downloading a movie, that's a nice to have. But if you think of using wireless services to monitor patient data, to capture data from sensors in a manufacturing company, from capturing data from a public safety person who is on the field and share this data in real time when industrial processes matter or people health matter or people life matter, that creates a completely different opportunity to re-engineer and reinvent almost every process we have in public and commercial space. And that's one of the characteristic. The other is, again, the ability with 5G to capture millions of sensors and data with one single antenna, something that we couldn't do with 4G. So the ability, again, to connect things and people with a single network is just 10 times bigger than it was for 4G. And this is just a couple of the characteristics of a network.

Jessica Denson (24:01):

Do you think it helps when you're dealing with business customers that you both have a business mind but also understand the technology so you can explain it to them?

Massimo Peselli (24:10):

I think it does, and it's also aligned to what we see being the new generation of IT leaders within our customers organization because up to seven, eight years ago, IT leaders in enterprise companies were more people who were running the operations. As we say, keep the lights on, make sure that everyone is connected today because technology underpin any innovation and any business transformation, any company today, 63% of the IT leaders report into the CEO and CEO and boards are now looking at technology as the weapon to solve some of the biggest business problems that they have.

(25:01):

Again, think also in manufacturing there will be shortage of workers on the factory, there will be shortage of nurses. How can you do that? Or there are people in each industry that is becoming more and more expert, how can you provide that expertise to new hires without waiting for a year or 18 months? All of that today can be done with technology. So we have to have that business mindset because our customers, VIT leaders have become business technologists, and so we need to elevate the language and we need to help our customers to be successful in their new role.

Jessica Denson (25:46):

I like the term business technologist. That really does encompass that idea for sure. So with any new technology, some fears can arise with 5G. There are other concerns about some coverage limitations because of mid band spectrum.

Massimo Peselli (26:06):

Well, the more the nature of a wireless suspect, the more you go up in frequency and the more you need density of antennas. But we don't have concern millimeter wave and 5G runs on different spectrum from the 24 gigahertz to the three and a half gigahertz. And so there are different type of 5G that could have a different broadcasting opportunities. So I'm not worried about the coverage already today we cover a vast part of a population in the US and we're going to complete the coverage just in a couple of years. So I'm not worried about the coverage at all. I think it's more the opportunity that we have and think that 4G and 5G will coexist already for several years. So think of 4G in some areas still as the entry point of a wireless technology and the bridge to 5G that will come. Sure, after

Jessica Denson (27:17):

That makes sense. One more concern that's been brought up that 5G may have a bigger carbon footprint or are there actually unlocked deficiencies that we could use with 5G?

Massimo Peselli (27:30):

No, actually it's the opposite. It's the opposite. Accenture made a study that the 5G will help to reduce overall the carbon footprint by 20%. And if you think it's also related to the evolution of technology, so for example, we can use AI today to shut down some repeaters and antennas when they're not use it. So we don't have devices that are always active, but they couldn't go dormant if there is no connectivity required in that specific location. Think like in the offices today when you have sensor, but when no one is walking, no one is at the office, you can shut down the lights. Same is happening on our network with 5G. So this is just an example on how technology is actually adding efficiency in the way we run the operation. So I would say it's totally the opposite.

Jessica Denson (28:36):

Our mission at Connect Nation is focused on bringing broadband access, which is high-speed internet to expanding that access adoption use to all people. So I love to hear stories that where there was something exciting or something where people got connected that maybe you remember or something that, is there a success story I guess is what I'm trying to say, that you would love to share about when Verizon connected either a group of people or an area that really has stuck with you?

Massimo Peselli (29:06):

Yeah, I think that one of the biggest opportunities we have with 5G is to really impact the digital divide with what we call fixed wireless access, which is basically broadband on wireless. We're all used to connect to internet at our houses, and the same is for business with cable, with fiber, and sometime the service is not even great because it's running on an old copper or cables wireless. 5G has changed all of this. Now you can have a broadband connectivity on a 5G network just with a small box. You can easily self-install yourself at home, or you can install yourself in a small business company and you can do that in a matter of hours. You don't have to wait weeks or in some cases month, and that's very affordable. We as Verizon, we believe that 5G will help a lot on the digital divide by providing these kind of high, reliable, fast connectivity at an affordable price. And it's very well known that today in the US most of the growth actually the entire growth of broadband is happening with fixed wireless. The traditional broadband connectivity based on cable and wireline and copper is declining while the growth is captured by fixed wireless assets. We as Verizon, we have more than 3 million connections in fixed wireless assets and it was almost nothing just two years ago.

Jessica Denson (30:58):

Wow.

Massimo Peselli (30:59):

Fastest growing part of our business.

Jessica Denson (31:03):

Well, since you've worked in Italy and Verizon is a global company, can you tell us what's happening globally with broadband versus the us, as in are people, if there's bead money that's being thrown around, what is the approach that other companies or other countries are taking when it comes to expanding broadband access right now? Is it similar to the US or is there a different approach?

Massimo Peselli (31:29):

It's similar. The approach is similar but with different technologies. Let me explain now. Obviously the digital divide is something that every country in the world is addressing. If I look at Europe a lot is incentivizing companies to invest in fiber connectivity. The level and the quality of wireless services in Europe is well behind us. And the reason being that the companies, because of a really tough competition at the regional level, at the country level, has pushed the companies to not be able to invest as much money as they should have. For example, in 5G, every time I go back to Europe and I go back very often I experience myself the difference in the quality of a wireless connectivity. So what I explained before, what I described before with fixed wireless access required a very highly performing network. And that's not the case in most areas in Europe. So I think there is sensibility around digital divide, but in US wireless can help tremendously to cover the digital divide, not so much in Europe.

Jessica Denson (32:57):

I think our audience would love to hear from you what you think the next big innovation is. What do you see on the horizon five, 10 years down the road?

Massimo Peselli (33:06):

Well, everyone is talking about artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has been become buzzword because of gene ai, the ability to answer any question, the ability to create better emails or better pictures or everything. But AI will also have a terrific impact on every business. Sometime we might hear the language like smart hospitals, smart venues, smart store, smart, everything. This will be enabled by AI and think about, we're just discussing this morning with a healthcare company, how they envision the hospital of the future, how they envision serving people at home in different ways where they can monitor the health of a patient, like for example, diabetes. And they can monitor in real time the level of sugar in the blood and the AI can decide to pump something into the body of a person right away because there is an acknowledgement that the sugar level is going too high today. This happens with a person going to the hospital tomorrow. It will happen automatically now that requires this information, the patient data to be collected in real time and then being processed somewhere at the edge most likely by ai. And then AI producing that intelligence that give instruction to the pump at the patient house to do something. Think about that. When you also get a lot of learning, you may even predict what might happen and even anticipate the care before it happens.

Jessica Denson (35:06):

I can really tell as you were giving that example, the excitement in your voice, you really do love this, don't you?

Massimo Peselli (35:15):

Yeah, yeah, I do. And I can have hundreds of examples. Obviously the one in that care is steer and close to all of us because we're all human beings and so we project ourself in similar situations. But the same applies in manufacturing. Think about a production line where the sensors just pass information in real time and when there is something going wrong, the intelligence can make adjustments right on the spot without the production line creating defected products, which is what happens today. Sometime you go for hours in producing something that is wrong and that costs millions to some of the manufacturing companies. So all of that again, is ability to capture data and 5G, that's why 5G is important. Send it to an AI platform, take the insights, produce actions, and monitor what everything is going, is going as it should.

Jessica Denson (36:14):

So really, do you see it as really limitless in how we could use this?

Massimo Peselli (36:20):

I think it is, and I think it is. And then that's when we talk about technology changing people lives, it's a combination of cloud computing ai, but what we know it's important is the connectivity layer because that's what bridge what's happening in a specific location at a specific person or a specific machines to the ability to capture and process both information and take the next best action. And it's everything. It's also the way you consume content or the way enjoy an experience in a sport venue, the way you go and experience shopping. So I've seen just the other day what they call the smart screen where you just put yourself in front of a screen and then you can try on different clothes, different jackets, a different color, and it just look at you at 360, like you are really wearing different models that might not be available in the store. And then you can take a screenshot and send it to your friends and say, what do you think about this?

Jessica Denson (37:35):

It's dangerous for me. Yeah,

Massimo Peselli (37:38):

You have to pick the good friends. Right.

Jessica Denson (37:42):

Well, is there anything you're really excited about that's ahead for Verizon business or something that we didn't touch on with Verizon business that you're excited about?

Massimo Peselli (37:51):

No, I think the excitement is that there's a lot still. There is still a lot to do. There's still a lot that we need to find out that still the frontier for innovation is unlimited, as you said, but it's exciting that we see some of the tangible outcome that the technology can generate. And it's so exciting because you know that just the beginning of the journey and we're just scratching the surface of the art of a possible.

Jessica Denson (38:24):

Well, my final question, what would you like people to take away from today's discussion? What do you really want them to remember about your work in Verizon?

Massimo Peselli (38:36):

I think the big takeaway is that people life will be better. They will live a better life when they need help from public sector than they will be taking care for their health. When they go and enjoy a show, when they go shopping, everything will be so much easier and there's a magic behind that, which is called technology. And then Verizon is fully dedicated and committed to put the right energy and the right people to make it happen.

Jessica Denson (39:15):

Well, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much, Mossimo. I've really enjoyed our conversation today.

Massimo Peselli (39:21):

Thank you. Thank you so much, Jessica. Me too.

Jessica Denson (39:30):

We've been talking with Mosser Elli today, who is the Chief Revenue Officer for the global enterprise and public sector of Verizon business. I'll include a link to Verizon business website in the description of this podcast. I'm Jessica Sson. Thanks for listening, connect Nation. If you like our show and want to know more about us, head to connected nation.org. Our look for the latest episodes on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Pandora, or Spotify.

 

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