Aetna CEO Elected to Verizon Board of Directors

Aetna Chairman and CEO Mark T. Bertolini Elected to Verizon Board of Directors NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2015 -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) todayannounced the election of Mark T. Bertolini, chairman and chief executiveofficer of Aetna Inc., to the Verizon Board of Directors, effective February 5. "Mark is an accomplished executive who brings to Verizon significant leadershipcapabilities managing a large-scale, global operation. He has extensiveexperience in the healthcare industry, which is an area of increasingimportance to Verizon's business strategy," said Lowell McAdam, Verizonchairman and chief executive officer. "We are very pleased to have Mark joinour board." The addition of Bertolini brings Verizon's total board membership to 12. Bertolini joined Aetna in 2003 as head of Aetna's Specialty Products. He servedas executive vice president and head of Aetna's regional businesses prior tobeing named president. In 2007 he was named president and in that role wasresponsible for all of Aetna's businesses and operations. Prior to joiningAetna, Bertolini held executive positions at Cigna, NYLCare Health Plans andSelectCare Inc., where he served as president and chief executive officer. Bertolini holds an undergraduate degree in business administration/finance fromWayne State University and an MBA in finance from Cornell University. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is aglobal leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wirelinecommunications services to consumer, business, government and wholesalecustomers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network,with more than 108 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also providesconverged communications, information and entertainment services over America'smost advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutionsto customers worldwide. A Dow 30 company with more than $127 billion in 2014revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 177,300. For more information,visit www.verizon.com/news/. VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches andbiographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon'sonline News Center at www.verizon.com/news/. The news releases are availablethrough an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

CONTACT: Bob Varettoni, +1-908-559-6388, [email protected]