CoS to CEO of Verizon
Lauren Tilstra is a seasoned communications executive, strategic advisor and board member with almost two decades of leadership serving some of the most iconic leaders in the Fortune 50. She is retained by some of the biggest brands and high-profile people in the world today for her work in corporate and reputation, executive and crisis communications.
Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff and AVP of Global Strategic Communications and Partnerships, leading enterprise-wide communications, strategic partnerships and the office of the Chairman and CEO for Verizon Communications (Market Cap: 166.94B, Customer Base:143M, Employee Base 119K), reporting to the Chairman and CEO and the Chief Communications Officer. She oversaw executive communications and thought leadership, corporate and financial communications, board communications, strategic partnerships and all aspects of the office of the Chairman and CEO. She is the first and only person in the firm’s 24-year history to lead the roles simultaneously.
In this post, she served as a senior communications advisor to the Chairman and CEO and led both communications and change management during the most transformational time in the company’s history, working to develop a new corporate structure, completing a full transition of Verizon’s Leadership Team (including 1 Chairman and CEO, a CMO and 4 Business Unit CEOs,) and stepping in to run consumer communications through a major market and company crisis.
Before this, Tilstra built the company’s first matrixed executive communications shop, cutting across all leaders and business units and shifting the company’s reputation and external communications strategy while ushering in new digital platforms for executive visibility and thought leadership. Tilstra previously served as a leader in internal and executive communications for the company where she created and championed Verizon’s culture and impact.
Earlier in her career, Tilstra served in various leadership roles at Time Warner, shaping the company’s reputation, leading CEO succession communications, launching the industry-leading TV Everywhere strategy which marked the beginning of content streaming and working to divest three companies from the enterprise’s portfolio. She started her career at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where she served on the PR team leading corporate external and internal communications and launched the company’s portfolio expansion to include industry-leading partnerships with CPG companies, 1-800 Flowers, Wedgewood and Macy’s.
A passionate advocate for digital inclusion, Tilstra is a founding member of the EDISON Alliance with Professor Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum, leading communications for the Alliance and working daily to connect 1B lives to the promise of the digital world. She also serves on the boards of Friends for Global Change and the National Executive Communication Council and is a decorate communications executive, named as a World Economic Forum YGL, to PRWeek’s 40 under 40 and as Penn State University’s College of Communications Outstanding Alumni of 2022. She is passionate about cultivating the next generation of communications leaders and is active within the university ecosystem, serving as a guest lecturer at Penn State, University of Delaware and Rutgers University and has established a coveted scholarship for Penn State minority communications students and future leaders.
