Dan Mead is being replaced as CEO of Verizon Wireless, the largest US operator, by John Stratton, currently its EVP and president of its global enterprise and consumer fixed line businesses.

Mead (pictured), aged 61, is to retire but first will oversee the transfer of Verizon’s fixed line operations in California, Florida and Texas to Frontier Communications, a deal that was announced earlier this month.

The new title for Mead, who is also Verizon’s EVP and president, is EVP and president of strategic initiatives.

However, 53-year-old Stratton is not inheriting the CEO nameplate at Verizon Wireless. His new title is EVP and president of operations, although he has responsibility for both Verizon’s mobile and fixed businesses.

Verizon has always had an unusual corporate structure, given Vodafone’s strategic stake in Verizon Wireless. This meant a duplication of executive roles between the fixed and mobile units. The buyout of Vodafone at the start of 2014 meant Verizon can adopt a more unified approach.

Both Mead and Stratton will report to Lowell McAdam, chairman and CEO of Verizon.

The executive changes were revealed in a SEC filing.