Lumen Unifies Executive Severance, Removes CEO Non-Compete
Company Background
Lumen Technologies, with an approximate market capitalization of $4.6 billion, provides enterprise networking services including fiber backbone connectivity, cloud networking, and its emerging Network-as-a-Service platform. The Denver-based company has been in an extended restructuring: it sold its Mass Markets fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T for $5.75 billion in February 2026, used roughly $4.8 billion of the proceeds to retire several debt tranches, and transferred its listing from the NYSE to Nasdaq, with shares beginning Nasdaq trading on October 6, 2026.
Revenue has continued to decline on a reported basis — Q2 2026 total revenue was $2.805 billion, down 9% year-over-year, driven partly by the loss of Mass Markets revenue following the AT&T divestiture. The company's core enterprise business revenue was essentially flat quarter-over-quarter in Q2 2026. Management has maintained its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $3.1 to $3.3 billion and Free Cash Flow guidance of $1.9 to $2.1 billion. Long-term debt stood at approximately $13.15 billion as of June 30, 2026, down from $17.35 billion at year-end 2025.
The executive team has seen significant turnover over the past year. David Ward, the Chief Technology and Product Officer, left in January 2026 to join Salesforce; Ashley Haynes-Gaspar, the Chief Revenue Officer, departed in March 2026; and Chief Legal Officer Mark Hacker announced his retirement in April 2026. Board Chair T. Michael Glenn also retired at the May 2026 annual meeting.
What Was Disclosed
On October 22, 2026, Lumen terminated its individual change-of-control agreements with CEO Kate Johnson and its other named executive officers and replaced them with a consolidated Lumen Executive Severance Plan. Each officer consented to the termination of their prior agreement. Management described the action as administrative consolidation, stating that the changes "did not result in any material change to the severance or change in control benefits previously provided to the Participating Officers."