Crown Castle snaps up American Tower veteran for CEO role

Moskowitz brings over 25 years of experience in the tower industry, most recently as CEO of Centennial towers, a Latin American focused towerco that delivered build-to-suit cell sites in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

He worked for American Tower between 1998 and 2009 and spent seven years as EVP and president of its US tower business. During that time, American Tower established itself as the leader in the US tower market, becoming the largest and most profitable wireless infrastructure company.

Under his leadership, American Tower is credited with tripling in size to more than 20,000 cell sites and expanding its indoor DAS network division to contribute significantly to its profitability.

Prior to Centennial, Moskowitz served as the CEO of NextG Networks, a provider of fibre-based small cell solutions.

Anthony Melone, who has served as Crown Castle’s interim president and CEO since January this year, will become a special advisor to Moskowitz until May 31, 2024, to ensure a seamless transition.

Melone will remain a Crown Castle board member.

P. Robert Bartolo, chair of the Crown Castle Board of Directors said that Moskowitz possesses all the key skill sets that the board was looking for in a new CEO.

This includes strong operating experience with domain expertise, strategic capital allocation, proven value creation, and prior CEO experience leading high-performing teams.

"Steven's breadth and depth of experience in domestic and international towers and small cell solutions is unique in the industry, and we know that he will provide valuable insights as we continue our progress on the strategic and operating review of the company's enterprise fibre and small cell business,” Bartolo said.

Moskowitz’s immediate priorities will certainly be around the strategic review and anticipated sale of Crown Castle’s fibre business, but he will also need to content with a proxy fight from co-founder Ted Miller.

In an open letter published in February 2024, Miller slammed Crown Castle’s leadership and the influence of activist investor Elliot Management.

He has tried to secure four board nominations and personally take over as executive chairman of the towerco.

Miller instigated litigation against Crown Castle shortly after the letter was published, although Crown Castle’s reply said that it was “without merit.

“I have long admired Crown Castle’s quality portfolio of communications infrastructure, and I’m pleased to join as CEO during such a pivotal time in its history,” Moskowitz said.

“I believe the opportunities are significant for Crown Castle, and I look forward to working alongside the Board and leadership team to continue to strengthen the company’s operations and unlock value for shareholders.”