Bell Atlantic Speeds Up Switch of CEOs

Bell Atlantic Corp. said Raymond W. Smith is stepping aside early as chief executive to let Ivan Seidenberg lead the telecommunications giant in the next phase of its growth. Seidenberg, Bell Atlantic’s chief operating officer, will become CEO on June 1 rather than on Aug. 14, as originally planned. Seidenberg was CEO of Nynex Corp., which Bell Atlantic bought last August, creating the nation’s second-largest phone company, behind AT&T; Corp. The board’s decision to move up the transition was recommended by Smith because combining the two mammoth telecommunications firms is “enormously complex and demanding.” The Philadelphia-based company also approved a 2-for-1 stock split. Bell Atlantic’s shares jumped $3.69 to close at $97.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.