Jax-based wireless infrastructure giant charts path after exec’s sudden death

Jax-based wireless infrastructure giant charts path after exec’s sudden death (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — As telecommunication giants compete in a relentless wireless arms race, companies like TowerCom have remained largely out of the spotlight, quietly building the infrastructure that makes it possible.

But now, with leadership changes in the wake of the sudden death of one of its core leaders, the firm based out of Neptune Beach faces a defining moment — testing whether the strength of its leadership can navigate its path forward.

Chris Colton, who oversaw TowerCom operations in the western U.S. as vice president, suddenly passed away last month. He was replaced by John Stevens April 29.

Simultaneously, TowerCom shuffled the totem pole, appointing new C-suite leadership. George Davis took the helm as chief executive officer April 29 after 22 years with the company, most recently as chief operations officer.

“It’s difficult to do a lot of the things that we’re doing and be very excited about it in the moment, because we’re still mourning the loss of a friend and colleague,” he told the Business Journal. “At the same time, we’re excited and optimistic about the future and our current direction: we’re starting a new funding cycle, and so it’s kind of another rebirth of the company, if you will.”

In some ways, TowerCom was spared some of the challenges presented by losing a key component of that leadership structure.

The privately held company had been without structured leadership for some time, and instead followed a decentralized model that Davis had begun to change last year. Stepping into the CEO role was a continuation of that, and the death of Colton was coincidental timing.

Stevens was “the perfect hire” for the western region, Davis said, as he was already a seasoned wireless operator nationally and that sector of the business is primed to grow this year.

At its core, TowerCom is a private developer of cell phone tower sites, used by telecommunication providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, for example.

“I sometimes liken it to the build out of the railroads and the highway system,” said Davis. “We are sort of essential to the build out of the information highway in terms of wireless communications.”

TowerCom constructs specifically shared use infrastructure so every site is designed for multiple carriers. It either owns or manages a portfolio of around 440 sites across 22 states.

“We’re building vertical real estate that we then lease out — no different than how a strip center developer would build a horizontal piece of infrastructure that would then be leased to a dry cleaner, a Subway, a grocery store or whatever,” Davis said. “We’re doing the same thing. We’re just doing it vertically.”

Carriers are attracted by growing populations which, in turn, drives business for TowerCom, and Jacksonville is growing.

Most towers nationwide are owned by companies like TowerCom, big or small. TowerCom was founded by Jacksonville native Radford Lovett in 1996. The company used to be headquartered out of downtown, but now calls an office in Neptune Beach home, which handles primarily accounting and investment.

“Our niche is that we’re decentralized,” said Davis. “We’ve put very experienced operators in various markets to be able to make decisions quickly and to effectuate change and deliver results for our clients at a market level where a lot of our competitors are focused on having all their key leadership in one location.”

Logo courtesy of TowerCom