The rest of the 50 (in alphabetical order): Samy Ben Aissa, managing director of corporate development and ventures, Verizon Ventures
Samy Ben Aissa has been with telecommunications firm Verizon since August 2015, where he joined as a manager of corporate development and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
He became managing director of corporate development and ventures in December 2018 at Verizon Ventures, a corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Verizon, where he sources investment opportunities, delivers business development, carries out deals and managing the portfolio, taking board observer seats.
He noted: “A move to CVC was a natural progression after my years in strategic M&A transactions. CVC work gives me the opportunity to directly influence the success of a startup via our initial investment and the journey to leverage that company’s technology within Verizon.”
Christopher Bartlett, senior vice-president of corporate development of Verizon and head of Verizon Ventures, said: “Samy’s significant impact on Verizon Ventures’ success this year belies his relatively short tenure with the group. He has leveraged his deep financial experience and forged new and better working relationships with the many organisations charged with Network innovation and performance to identify potential investment opportunities.
“Samy quickly identified key individuals in the Network organisation, including a group of 19 academic Network Fellows who are essential to future strategy. He has successfully acted as the ‘translator’ by using the Network Fellows’ collective genius to zero in on areas where 5G network innovation is most needed. Samy’s financial diligence and creative solutions are a perfect complement to the technical diligence performed by the network fellows.”
Ben Aissa has technology, media and telecommunications experience, having had a two-year stint as an associate director of corporate development and M&A at telecoms firm AT&T from July 2012. He was also involved in private equity (PE) and investment banking at PE firm GF Capital Management & Advisors, financial services firms Commerzbank and JP Morgan.
Before that, Ben Aissa spent nine years in IT, with managerial roles at companies including GE Transportation Systems, then a subsidiary of industrial product manufacturer General Electric, real estate services firm K Hovnanian Homes and communications software producer Avaya.
He holds an MBA in finance from NYU Stern School of Business, a master’s degree in computer information science from Gannon University, and another in management information systems from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne.
