Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA Karl-Ludwig Kley elected to Verizon Board of Directors

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today announced the election of Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairmanof the executive board and chief executive officer of Merck KGaA, to theVerizon Board of Directors, effective November 5. "Karl is an accomplished executive who brings to Verizon significantleadership experience as CEO of an innovative, global operation that isnavigating a highly competitive, complex and rapidly changing ecosystem. Hehas extensive expertise in corporate finance and critical capabilities instrategy and operations," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and chiefexecutive officer. "We are very pleased to have Karl join our board." The addition of Kley brings Verizon's total board membership to 13. Kley has been chief executive officer and chairman of the executive board ofMerck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany since 2007. Prior to this, he was appointedvice chairman of the executive board in September 2006. Before joining MerckKGaA, Kley was a member of the executive board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG from1998 to 2006, where he served as chief financial officer. From 1982 to 1998,Kley worked for Bayer AG in a variety of positions, including as head ofcorporate finance and investor relations. Kley holds a J.D. from the University of Munich. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) employs a diverse workforceof 177,900 and generated more than $127 billion in 2014 revenues. VerizonWireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 110.8million retail connections nationwide. Headquartered in New York, Verizonalso provides communications and entertainment services over America's mostadvanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions tocustomers worldwide. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.