Verizon sought to give its troubled media business a 5G boost, charging the unit’s newly appointed CTO Rathi Murthy (pictured) with integrating the technology into the division’s content, commerce and advertising products.

Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media, in a statement hailed Murthy’s record of driving growth at major companies, adding her “wealth of experience” will be “invaluable for us in support of our mission of connecting people to their passions”.

Murthy most recently served as SVP and CTO at clothing retailer Gap. She previously held positions as SVP and CIO at American Express, and senior director of engineering at eBay and Yahoo.

Under her guidance, Verizon said its media unit will “will continue to take advantage of the 5G revolution, delivering 5G-powered innovations that transform content and commerce experiences for consumers, partners and advertisers”.

The operator’s decision to hire Murthy comes as it works to reverse continued revenue declines which have persisted over five consecutive quarters.

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg previously outlined plans to use 5G to inject new life into the business, in May 2019 announcing Verizon Media would use the technology for new AR and extended reality (XR) content projects.

In December 2019, a Verizon Media representative told CNN  the company would continue to invest in premium content, e-commerce and building user communities, despite laying off around 150 employees.