Speaker Bio
Aparna Khurjekar
Chief Revenue Officer
Verizon Business Markets and SaaS
linkedin.com/in/aparna-khurjekar/
aparna@khurjekar.com
+1.732.407.9388
Aparna is the Chief Revenue Officer for Verizon Business Markets and SaaS. In this role, she is responsible for the company’s strategy and execution to accelerate 5G growth via new business products and go-to-market operations. She oversees the expansion of wireless, wireline, and IoT solutions through direct and digital sales, as well as Verizon's partner networks.
Aparna’s team of over 5,000 global sales professionals guide Verizon’s small and mid-market customers through digitally transformed journeys by providing them a comprehensive suite of innovative managed solutions for connectivity, communications, and collaboration. Under her leadership, the Verizon Business organization has embraced a data-driven culture to transform guided sales, enhance rep productivity, and enable seamless experiences for business customers, resulting in consistent double-digit growth for the business throughout her tenure.
During her 15 years at Verizon, Aparna has held various leadership roles, including Chief Customer Officer in the Verizon Consumer Group. In this multidisciplinary role, she was responsible for end-to-end digital channel sales and service, AI-led business transformation, digital and omnichannel experiences, and data platforms. Aparna led Verizon's significant growth in digital and record improvement in wireless brand NPS as the primary executive in charge of navigating the company's digital response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Previously, as SVP of Consumer Products, Aparna was an early advocate of product-led growth at Verizon. She launched many of Verizon's flagship offerings that resulted in an enduring growth profile for the portfolio and an enterprise-wise expansion of the company’s innovation agenda. In her prior role as Chief Network Officer for US South, the company’s largest network area, she championed the deployment of Verizon’s 4G LTE network and network transformation. Earlier as VP of Global Strategy, she managed the company’s IoT strategy, including the acquisition of Hughes Telematics, strategic investments in nPhase, and Verizon Wireless’ joint venture with Qualcomm.
Prior to joining Verizon, Aparna was Senior Director of Technology Strategy & Engineering at Motorola, where she worked on marquee handset launches that defined the evolution of the mobile experience, including the first color phone, the iconic RAZR, the first open-OS phone, the cross-OS UI platform, as well as productizing numerous enabling technologies such as Wi-Fi, NFC, and VoIP. Her seminal work in wireless signal processing ultimately resulted in defining the next generation of standards in mobile handset architecture.
Aparna thrives on solving the most complex business problems in today’s data-rich and tech-heavy environment, while leading groundbreaking transformations and aligning large-team operations to the strategic vision. She strives to be the most objective voice in a room and believes in authentic leadership. Aparna is committed to mentoring women and youth on the importance of speaking up with knowledge and conviction.
Aparna holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Temple University and a BE in Electronics and Telecommunications from Savitribai Phule Pune University. She has been awarded several patents:Method and an Apparatus for Eb/nt Estimation for Forward Power Control in Spread Spectrum Communications Systems; and Methods and Systems for Providing Multiple Network Services By Way of a Single Machine-to-Machine Gateway Device.
In 2021, she was named “Top Woman in Retail” by Chain Store Age. She serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for Cresta and is an executive sponsor of the Women’s Association of Verizon Employees.
A global food & travel enthusiast, Aparna loves to experiment with new cuisines, and enjoys travel, fashion, fitness & board game nights with family.