CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) has announced a CEO succession plan that will see current Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) President and CEO Jeff Storey replace current CenturyLink CEO Glen F. Post on January 1, 2019. Post will become executive chairman of CenturyLink's board at that time. The company also announced a shuffling of the management deck at the board level.

Storey will join CenturyLink upon completion of the company's acquisition of Level 3, which the companies expect will occur September 30 of this year (see "CenturyLink will buy Level 3 for $34 billion"). He will start as president and chief operating officer of the combined company before stepping into Post's shoes at the beginning of 2019.

"Jeff has been an excellent leader for Level 3 and shares our excitement about the future of our business and the importance of world-class customer experience to our success," said Post in a press release. "Just as important, Jeff shares my focus on continuing to invest in our network, products and services to meet our customers' needs. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Jeff to shape the future of the combined company."

In addition to Storey, three other people will report directly to Post after the Level 3 closing:

• Stacey Goff, executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer
• Sunit Patel, executive vice president, chief financial officer
• Scott Trezise, executive vice president, human resources.

The three are part of a larger management structure for the combined company that CenturyLink announced about a month ago (see "CenturyLink unveils senior leadership team ahead of Level 3 closing").

Higher up the management food chain, the company also revealed that Harvey P. Perry, CenturyLink's current vice chairman of the board, has been appointed chairman of the board effective immediately. He replaces William A. Owens, who retired from the board on May 24, 2017. Fellow board member W. Bruce Hanks is now vice chairman. Storey is one of four Level 3 board members who will join the CenturyLink board at the closing of the acquisition.

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