It’s never too early to expand your leadership skills. Just ask Teddy P. and Hannah L., two of our VLDP superstars.

Designed to drive the success of our future leaders, Verizon’s Leadership Development Program (VLDP) provides participants with an immersive experience as they build their leadership skills. Employees in the program experience customized rotations across different areas, networking activities, and opportunities to apply skill sets through meaningful projects, meetings and presentations to senior leadership.

VLDP helps emerging talent prepare to take the next step in their leadership journey, whether their goal is to lead others or become a thought leader. With over 300 participants in the past decade, the program has played a role in transforming these V Teamers into future leaders.

Meet Teddy P., Director in Network Engineering and Operations.

For Teddy P., 2013 was his year. After completing a Master’s in Engineering and proposing to his now-wife, Alecia, Teddy saw a bright future ahead. He also applied to VLDP, which helped him make valuable connections across the business as he worked toward his goal of becoming a leader at Verizon.

Being exposed to different areas of the business through his VLDP rotations was eye-opening for Teddy early on in the process. Seven months in, he applied for three patents with Verizon, all of which were approved. This, however, was just the start of his journey: “I can’t imagine many other jobs where I would be listed as the lead inventor after being in the company for seven months,” he said.

Since completing the program in 2016, Teddy’s leadership development journey has come full circle. As a Director in Network Engineering, Teddy is now invited to speak at industry conferences in tech that are similar to the trade shows he attended as a VLDP employee when he was just beginning to explore emerging technologies.

“The large network that I built while going through VLDP is the most valuable tool in my toolbox. Verizon’s most valuable asset is our V Team, and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Meet Hannah L., HR VLDP in Executive Compensation.

As a child, Hannah L. was always there to lend a helping hand, especially for her parents, often translating from English to Korean. These life lessons taught her the importance of service to others — a mindset she maintains today as she pursues a career in Human Resources.

From gaining a deeper understanding of Verizon’s network as an HR Business Partner to creating innovative campaigns for the Executive Compensation team, Verizon's leadership development curriculum has given Hannah the full spectrum of HR at Verizon. It was pivotal in Hannah's VLDP experience when her leaders made the time to get to know her on a more personal level. They also became Hannah's mentors, reminding her to always move forward: “My managers encourage me to be future-thinking. It’s not just about getting one task done, but more about how I can build a future at Verizon.”

As she prepares to graduate from VLDP, Hannah feels more than equipped to continue her leadership journey: “There’s always meaningful work to be done and exciting people to work with. VLDP has enabled me to work with many groups who have different priorities. I’ve been able to build new relationships and add value to the business.”

“Verizon leaders invest their time and energy in getting to know emerging talent. Working with multiple teams has helped me build my network and deepen my understanding of how things operate at Verizon.”