Level 3 Communications Inc. CEO and President Jeff Storey will succeed Glen Post as the CEO of Monroe-based CenturyLink in 2019, the company has announced.
The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports CenturyLink’s longtime CEO will transition out of the position on Jan. 1, 2019, at which point Post will become board chairman. CenturyLink says the succession will take place once its acquisition of Colorado-based Level 3 is complete. The deal is valued at $34 billion. In the meantime, Storey will serve as CenturyLink’s president and chief operating officer.
“Throughout our company’s evolution, we have focused on investment, growth and value creation. I am pleased that our collective work has put us at the forefront of the digital world. As we move into this next phase of our growth, I am confident in the strength of our position, the scope of our opportunity and Jeff’s ability to lead our company forward—first as president and COO and then as CEO,” Post says in a statement. “Transitions like this are bittersweet, but I am confident this is the right time to begin to take this next step into our future.”
Post joined CenturyLink in 1976 and became CEO in 1992. He is Louisiana’s highest paid CEO, earning $13.6 million in 2016, according to a recent analysis by The Associated Press.
The company employs 2,700 Louisiana workers and its annual state payroll exceeds $200 million. CenturyLink is the largest public company headquartered in Louisiana.
“Glen has done an exceptional job leading CenturyLink over the last 25 years, steadily transforming the company to become a leading international communications provider,” Storey says in a statement. “I strongly believe in the combination of the two companies and I am very excited to become part of the CenturyLink management team after the transaction closes.”
