Meet Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg: Mood Tracker, Athlete and Bridge for the Digital Divide

Providing internet access to small villages in Africa switched on a new purpose for Hans Vestberg , Chairman and CEO of Verizon . In this episode, Hans talks about the work he’s doing to close the digital divide for more villages as well as the surprising habits that help him succeed.

Long before joining Verizon, Hans was growing up in Sweden, surrounded by a family of police officers. Hans’ ambition was to play professional sports.

“I played team handball – that’s the second biggest sport in Sweden – but realized I wasn’t good enough. So, I really wanted to be a police officer, as my family was working in law enforcement. But my father was very clear with me that I didn’t have the personality and the right skillsets to be a police officer. I was a little bit upset about that, but it took me on another journey in life.”

He began his career at Ericsson, a communications technology company, and became the company’s President and CEO. Around 2007, he was part of a team that provided internet connectivity to remote areas of Africa. The experience ignited a purpose that Hans continues to pursue today.

“I remember vividly when we came into a city, there were thousands of children with big signs, saying ‘thank you for giving us internet.’ I’d never seen anything like it. For them, they became part of our society.”

From that point on, Hans began working with programs that would bring greater connectivity to the world.

“It shouldn’t matter where you’re born or where you come from or who you are. You should have the same opportunity, but the same opportunity can only come with digital inclusion…. You need to have digital healthcare, digital education, so, I work to see if I can bridge that gap.”

Today, he’s chairman of the EDISON Alliance, which aims to get an additional billion people connected to the internet in the next five years.

Closing the digital divide is not his only passion. He’s also determined to be the best leader he can and follows some interesting practices to make that happen. For example, since 2009, Hans has logged his mood every day.

“I started to say, every morning or the day after, I’m going to rank myself from 0 to 10. Between 3 to 7 is the sweet spot…I’m probably getting the best out of myself and give the best…. If I’m between 0 and 2, I usually have a bad day and should be in a closed room…. If I’m between 9 and 10, people get very tired of me because I’m so much energy…. But if you want to be a leader, to lead other people, which is a huge responsibility, you’d better think about how you get better.”

Hans also keeps a list of names on the back of his ID badge as a reminder of who he should call that week, just to check in and see how things are going. It’s a practice he learned after a former manager only called him when there was a problem.

“I decided, why not call the people that really matter to me, just to get the interaction. So, the time I call them and if something is wrong, we actually know each other much better, and if they have a problem, they’re going to call me much earlier.”

Thank you, Hans, for your commitment to digital inclusion and for inspiring leaders everywhere to be the best they can be.