Lumen Announces CEO Transition, With Kate Johnson Taking the Role in November

Lumen announced CEO Jeff Storey, who's been in the role since shortly after he came to Lumen in the Level 3 acquisition in 2016, will retire in November after a 40-year career and be replaced by Kate Johnson, a tech industry veteran who has previously worked for Oracle, General Electric, and Microsoft. Lumen said succession planning had been taking place for several years, and Johnson left her last role— the president of Microsoft U.S.— in 2021. Recent divestitures make this a logical time for a new CEO to get a fresh start with a revamped business, but Lumen's inability to turn a corner toward growth in recent years may also be a catalyst for new leadership.