Lowell McAdam. : The telecom giant said on Friday that its chief executive of eight years, Lowell McAdam, would be stepping down on August 1. He’ll remain chairman. Mr. McAdam’s resignation comes after he engineered some of the most significant moves to adapt America’s biggest telecom company for a digital era. He bought full control of Verizon’s wireless business from Vodafone in 2013 in a $130 billion deal, striking a transaction that had been years in the making. He also led Verizon into the world of digital content, buying companies like Aol and Yahoo.