Miller and Nominees Are Committed To Restoring
Urgency, Operational Excellence and Shareholder Confidence in Crown
Castle
Miller and Nominees Bring a Detailed Plan for
Optimizing Crown Castle's Fiber Assets, and Materially Improving
Operations, Go-To-Market Strategy and Customer Innovation
Strategic Plan Financial Targets:
AFFO After Discretionary Capex of $2.2 Billion by 2025
Drive EBITDA Margin Per Tower From 70% Toward
75-80%, In Line With Crown Castle's Peers American Tower and
SBA
A Highly Sustainable Dividend Policy To Build
Long-Term Value
Annual Interest Cost Savings of $330 Million – In Excess of Expected Churn Costs
from Expiring Sprint Contract
A Target Share Price of $150-$160 Based on
2026 Ebitda Projections
Miller and Co-Investors Have Economic Position of
$100 Million in Crown Castle
Miller and Nominees Also Urge Crown Castle to Put
the Company's Coercive and Disenfranchising Agreement With Elliott
Management to a Shareholder Vote
HOUSTON, Feb. 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ted B.
Miller, the founder of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) ("Crown
Castle" or the "Company") has nominated a slate of four director
nominees to the Crown Castle board of directors (the "Board").
Their full biographical information is available at the end of this
release. Below is the text of a letter sent by Mr. Miller, on
behalf of his investment vehicle Boots Capital Management, to the
Crown Castle Chairman, P. Robert
Bartolo.
Dear Rob:
This is a pivotal moment for the future of the company I
founded, Crown Castle Inc. Like you, I believe that Crown Castle
must be rebooted after the shameful adventure into fiber, which has
cost investors tens of billions and turned the global
industry-leader into a ridiculed laggard.
But raising questions is not the same as answering them. While
Elliott Investment Management L.P. ("Elliott") and the Board have
brought on new directors and hopeful concepts about the future, my
six months of discussions with the largest fundamental
shareholders, customers and employees surfaced the same plea: Crown
Castle lacks leadership, expertise, vision and urgency. It needs a
plan.
The CEO has resigned, the current CFO has resigned and
un-resigned, there is a revolving door of fiber leadership, the
EVP/COO of Towers has left, a major employee location has been
shuttered and reopened, the company still trades at a 15-20%
enterprise-value discount to peers, and the share price
reflects skepticism about a potential fiber sale and what comes
after.
Well, we've got a plan.
A plan that brings leadership, expertise, vision and urgency. We
have readied world-class tower know-how – across every aspect of
the business – to execute that plan and act as the single best
insurance policy for Crown Castle's long-suffering
shareholders.
I would serve as Executive Chairman, and Chuck, Tripp and David
as directors. We would help the Board and collaborate with both the
interim and new CEO to accomplish the following objectives for all
stakeholders:
- Get fiber sold. My fellow nominees and I have spent the
last six months and $5 million in
direct, personal cost, dissecting every dimension of the fiber
transaction including leading a due diligence process with 25
prospective buyers and financing sources to increase speed and
certainty of a transaction for Crown Castle's benefit. We have
analyzed the status and financing capacity of each potential buyer,
the optimal buyer structure, carveout economics, and go-forward
financials for Crown Castle. In our discussions with the Board, not
one Board member ever asked to see this extensive work.
The fiber and small-cell assets are of high quality, and our model
anticipates Crown Castle retaining a minority interest, but it's
clear they belong in the hands of operators who are most
comfortable in that business. Our models showed that Crown Castle
could go all the way to 2050 and never earn back its own cost of
capital. Sadly, the facts show that Crown Castle would be worth
tens of billions more today if it had simply held on to its
international towers and never ventured into fiber.
- Capture tax benefits. We have detailed to you and the
broader Board the need for the completion of the fiber transaction
in 2024. There are significant tax benefits, estimated by our
accounting advisers at $1
billion-plus, that expire at the end of 2024.
- Relentlessly focus as a pure-play US TowerCo. Freed from
fiber, Crown Castle becomes a pure-play US tower company, with what
should be a substantially attractive trading multiple that we
estimate at 25 times Ebitda. This will finally close the
decade-long valuation gap between Crown Castle and SBA
Communications Corp. and American Tower Corp.
- Buyback shares. Add in $1.9
billion of buybacks from the proceeds of the fiber sale and
enhance near-term and future shareholder returns.
- Run the company much more efficiently. In 2013, Crown
Castle owned 40,000 towers and employed 1,400. Today it still owns
40,000 towers and employs 2,200 people across that business line,
even after a 750-person reduction. How can the Company have gotten
less efficient over time given so many advances in technology?
Elliott has rightly had similar observations.
We will drive change to improve this. I founded this company and
this industry. And I have devoted the last two decades of my life
to advancing the technology that serves this industry. With this
direct, functional knowledge we intend to use digital-twin and AI
technology to reduce customer rebalance and rollout times, while
reducing service costs by an estimated 40% during the tower
lifecycle. Currently Crown Castle has 18 towers for each employee,
the worst among the major three providers. We target taking that
number to 23 for each employee by 2026 which is in line with AMT's
US tower operations. We believe additional gains can be
achieved because Crown Castle operated in 2013 with 29 towers per
employee.
- Repair a broken company culture. I founded this
company with the hard work and shared values of dedicated
employees. I have been horrified by the stories employees have
conveyed to me over the last six months. In my opinion, their
public comments show a company rotting from the top, managed by
financial engineers and not actual operators. With interest rates
having changed so drastically, this financial-engineering chapter
of Crown Castle's life is over. It is time to get back to
operational basics. And I am ready to be the principled leader –
supporting both the interim and new CEO – to help fill this vacuum.
Restoring a positive and productive company culture is essential to
driving shareholder value.
- Build a better go-to-market relationship with carriers.
We are also focused on creating value over a longer 24 to 36 month
period. Once we spend the next two years fixing Crown Castle, we
have a longer-term detailed approach to help customers access new
communications infrastructure that captures immense opportunities
in edge compute, Internet of Things, satellite connectivity,
private networks, public services and autonomous
transportation.
- Delivering materially improved financials. Clearing a
fiber transaction, running a tighter organization, and paying down
debt has material financial benefits for all shareholders. That
includes our projections to:
Take AFFO after discretionary CapEx to over $5 per share by 2025, up from its current
$3 per share.
Take AFFO after Discretionary Capex and Dividend from a
$1.3 billion DEFICIT to a positive
$200 million.
Drive EBITDA Margin per tower from 70% toward 75-80% in line with
Crown Castle's peers AMT and SBA.
The current dividend is funded with debt and, in my view, is
unsustainable. Our plan is to payout 90%, translating to a dividend
of $4.62/share in 2025 with annual
growth of 6-7%. This is accomplished with 5.4x leverage to maintain
the Company's investment grade status.
Reduce total debt to approximately $17
billion, freeing up capacity for future initiatives once we
get the house in order over the next two-plus years.
Pay off all floating rate debt eliminating interest rate exposure
for the Company.
Paydown/buyout $4 billion of fixed
rate debt and reduce fixed rate maturities between now and 2026 by
15%.
The bottom line for shareholders: We estimate that this
detailed plan supports 2026 Ebitda that takes Crown Castle shares
to $150 to $160.
•
It is my direct experience – in the lab and field, responding
directly to customers – which made me see both the failings of
Crown Castle's management and the virtues of a business that
Elliott rightly describes as one of the best businesses in the
world.
Knowing the potential locked inside Crown Castle, I have never
been more excited about an investment opportunity for all
stakeholders. It's why I've got real skin in the game --
$100 million of capital from myself
and select investors – to aid this transformation. This is a sum
greater than the entire 12-person Board's company-granted holdings
in Crown Castle, and it is a far greater amount than their personal
purchases.
And unlike common hedge fund practice, our position is not
hedged in a way that minimizes or fully eliminates true economic
exposure. We deeply believe in what this company can and should
be.
We shared our 39-page plan (a redacted version of which we are
releasing today) with you on a 90-minute Board call on January 30. Perhaps most revealing was that
during my Board interview, one director questioned whether we were
"too in the weeds."
It was a poignant remark from a Board that only met four times a
year in both 2021 and 2022, the latter of which was a period when
the stock lost 35% of its value. American Tower directors met 18
times in that same period.
Yes, we're in the weeds. It's what shareholders expect and
demand of their Board. Board members should be also.
•
It's important we address stakeholders on another major factor
in this situation: The Board's settlement and Cooperation Agreement
with Elliott. While it does not have our tower expertise or our
fiber due diligence, Elliott has insights and sophistication which
we value around the board table.
Standstill agreements are of course common. But we still find
that the bargain struck between the Board and this investor
presents real concerns. Major shareholders to whom we've spoken are
troubled and want an explanation as to why the agreement was struck
prior to the nomination window, and why our communications with the
Board were ignored going back to August, 2023, and in December in
advance of the Elliott agreement.
What's more, the Cooperation Agreement enshrines Elliott as the
de facto controller of the Company, with direct influence at the
board level and across the committees that control Crown Castle's
strategic future. (We are attaching our earlier attorney letter
that more fully outlines these deficiencies.)
Our fear is that this bargain with Elliott deprived shareholders
of what was best for the Company, not just what was expedient for
the directors. That became clear when one Crown Castle official
told us early in our discussions, that you wished we "had gotten
there a few weeks before" the agreement with Elliott.
The Company has offered stockholders no explanation for the
Board's decision to give Elliott such dominance, nor has it
reassured stockholders that Elliott is sufficiently disinterested
to act with the best interests of all stockholders, stakeholders
and employees in mind.
Surely, they would also like to know the full background of
Elliott's economic exposure to Crown Castle and, as suggested by
some in our research, has any intentions of financing a fiber
carve-out.
The facts get even more upsetting for long-term shareholders.
Just 85 days ago, Elliott touted its "investment of approximately
$2 billion" in Crown Castle. The most
recent 13(f) filing lists Elliott's investment at $141 million. That means that before the
nomination window even closed on February
17, Elliott shed 93% of its stated investment exposure. It's
even possible that Elliott could exit its position entirely before
the shareholder vote. Remarkably, the Crown Castle Board did not
specifically require Elliott maintain ownership thresholds to keep
these privileges.
There is a straightforward solution to all this: Promptly
submit the Cooperation Agreement to a stockholder
vote. Doing so would resolve any concerns about
transparency and make clear that the Board will reflect the will of
all stockholders, not just Elliott. Doing so is also the best way
to forestall litigation, costly distraction, and potential delay of
a fiber sale, all of which would prevent the Company from realizing
significant value for its stockholders.
•
To improve the prospects for all Crown Castle shareholders, I
have nominated four directors to the board. Myself; Chuck Green, one of the world's leading
authorities on tower operations and economics and the Crown Castle
CFO at the time of the Company's IPO in 1998; Tripp Rice, from my family office 4M investments and my son-in-law, who has built
our investment thesis from the ground up with extensive
understanding of CCI's operational and financial problems and
opportunities; and David Wheeler,
one of the most sophisticated students of tower finance from a
35+-year career at Credit Suisse and other leading institutions.
Each of their bios is appended to this letter.
•
Rob, I welcome a personal dialogue that has eluded us since
August. No director even had the courtesy to tell me directly our
nominations were not recommended by the Board.
We hope to find a consensual way to bring our best resources to
help a company that is in my bones and that I love. This love
compels me to take this step, on behalf of confused employees,
frustrated customers, and disappointed shareholders. We've got the
plan to make things right again.
•
ADVISERS
Strategic: Woolery & Co.
Legal: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Proxy Solicitor: Morrow Sodali LLP
Communications: Gasthalter & Co.
INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACTS
Investors:
Morrow Sodali
By Phone: 1-800-662-5200 or 203-658-9400
By Email: Boots@info.morrowsodali.com
Media:
Jonathan Gasthalter/Nathaniel Garnick/Grace
Cartwright
Gasthalter & Co.
By Phone: 212-257-4170
By Email: bootscapital@gasthalter.com
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information herein contains "forward-looking statements."
Specific forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact
that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and
include, without limitation, words such as "may," "will,"
"expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"
"projects," "potential," "targets," "forecasts," "seeks," "could,"
"should" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such
terms or comparable terminology. Similarly, statements that
describe the Participants' (as defined below) objectives, plans or
goals are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject
to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions. There can be no
assurance that any idea or assumption herein is, or will be proven,
correct. If one or more of the risks or uncertainties materialize,
or if the underlying assumptions of Boots Capital (as defined
below) or any of the other Participants in the proxy solicitation
described herein prove to be incorrect, the actual results may vary
materially from outcomes indicated by these statements.
Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a
representation by Boots Capital or the other Participants that the
future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated will ever be
achieved. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a
prediction of actual results and actual results may vary materially
from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking
statements. Except to the extent required by applicable law,
neither Boots Capital nor any Participant will undertake and
specifically declines any obligation to disclose the results of any
revisions that may be made to any projected results or
forward-looking statements herein to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of such projected results or
statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or
unanticipated events.
Certain statements and information included herein have been
sourced from third parties. Boots Capital and the other
Participants do not make any representations regarding the
accuracy, completeness or timeliness of such third party statements
or information. Except as may be expressly set forth herein,
permission to cite such statements or information has neither been
sought nor obtained from such third parties. Any such statements or
information should not be viewed as an indication of support from
such third parties for the views expressed herein.
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PARTICIPANTS
Boots Capital and the other Participants (as defined below)
intend to file a preliminary proxy statement and accompanying GOLD
universal proxy card (the "Proxy Statement") with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") to be used to solicit proxies
for, among other matters, the election of its slate of director
nominees at the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders (the "2024
Annual Meeting") of Crown Castle Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Crown Castle" or the
"Corporation").
The participants in the proxy solicitation are currently
anticipated to be Boots Parallel 1, LP, Boots, LP (and together
with Boots Parallel 1, LP, the "Boots Funds"), Boots Capital
Management, LLC ("Boots Capital"), Boots GP, LLC ("Boots GP"),
4M Management Partners, LLC
("4M Management Partners"),
4M Investments, LLC ("4M Investments"), WRCB, L.P. ("WRCB"),
Theodore B. Miller, Jr. and
Tripp H. Rice (collectively, the
"Boots Parties"); and Charles Campbell
Green III and David P.
Wheeler (together with Mr. Miller and Mr. Rice, the "Boots
Nominees," and together with the Boots Parties, the
"Participants").
Boots GP, as the general partner of each of the Boots Funds, and
4M Management Partners, as the
investment advisor of each of the Boots Funds, may each be deemed
to beneficially own interests in an aggregate of 784,009 shares of
the Corporation's common stock, $0.01
par value (the "Common Stock") held in the Boots Funds (including
interests in 182,997 shares of Common Stock underlying
over-the-counter forward purchase contracts and interests in
601,012 shares of Common Stock underlying over-the-counter share
option contracts). WRCB beneficially owns interests in 135
shares of Common Stock underlying a call option. Mr. Miller
has direct ownership of 200 shares of Common Stock, which includes
100 shares of Common Stock held of record and 100 shares of Common
Stock held of record as tenant in common with his wife. In
addition, Mr. Miller may be deemed to beneficially own interests in
an aggregate of 784,716.958 shares of Common Stock (which includes
interests in 784,009 shares of Common Stock held by the Boots
Funds, which Mr. Miller may be deemed to beneficially own as the
President and managing member of 4M
Management Partners and a Manager and the President of Boots GP,
interests in 400 shares of Common Stock underlying call options
owned beneficially and as a tenant in common with his wife,
interests in 135 shares of Common Stock underlying a call option
owned beneficially by WRCB, which Mr. Miller may be deemed to
beneficially own as sole member of one of the general partners of
WRCB, and 172.958 shares of Common Stock held through the
Corporation's 401(k) Plan in the Crown Castle Stock Fund. Mr.
Rice is the record holder of 100 shares of Common Stock and, as the
Vice President of 4M Management
Partners and a Manager and the Vice President of Boots GP, Mr. Rice
may be deemed to beneficially own interests in 784,009 shares of
Common Stock held by the Boots Funds. Mr. Green beneficially
owns 1,736 shares of Common Stock in joint tenancy with his
wife. All of the foregoing information is as of the date
hereof unless otherwise disclosed.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
BOOTS CAPITAL STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF CROWN CASTLE
TO READ THE PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT, ANY AMENDMENTS OR
SUPPLEMENTS TO SUCH PROXY STATEMENT, THE DEFINITIVE PROXY
STATEMENT, AS WELL AS PROXY MATERIALS FILED BY CROWN CASTLE AS THEY
BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S
WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY
SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT
CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE
DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHIES
TED B. MILLER, 72
Ted B. Miller, Jr. is a lawyer
and accountant by education and began his career with Ernst &
Young LLP. He has been President of 4M Investments, LLC since 2001, which is an
international private investment company that owns, manages
and develops office, retail, hotel and distribution space across
the US as well as telecommunications infrastructure and
technology relevant to infrastructure and real estate.
Mr. Miller founded Crown Castle in 1994, a global wireless
communications infrastructure company, and served as the
Company's Chief Executive Officer from 1994 until 2002. He also
served as the Company's Chairman from 1999 to 2002.
In 1994, Mr. Miller founded Intercomp Technologies, LLC (dba
Intercomp5 Global Services), a privately held business process
outsourcing company with operations throughout Eurasia. He was
the Chairman and majority shareholder of the company until the
company was sold to Elbrus Capital in October 2013. Mr. Miller was also the founder of
M7 Aerospace, LP, a privately held aerospace service,
manufacturing and technology company, and served as the company's
Chairman and majority shareholder from 2003 until the company
was sold to Elbit Systems of America (NASDAQ:ESLT) in
December 2010. He was a shareholder
and served as a member of the board of directors of Affiliated
Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE:ACS), a global business process
outsourcing company employing over 70,000 employees with a
$6 billion market capitalization,
from November 2008 until the acquisition of the company by
Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX) in February
2010. Mr. Miller was also a shareholder and board
member of Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) from 2010 to 2016, which is
a supplier of industrial, medical and other specialty gases.
Airgas was sold to Air Liquide in May
2016 for $14 billion.
He founded each of Visual Intelligence, LP, a privately held
imaging technologies company, and 4M HR Logistics, LLC, a government and defense
contractor and aviation staffing business, in 1999 and 2003,
respectively. Mr. Miller is the majority shareholder and has served
as the Chairman of both Visual Intelligence, LP and
4M HR Logistics, LLC since inception.
Since 2022, he has also served as a board member and
shareholder of PowerX Technology Ltd, a software development
company that leverages artificial intelligence to automate the
management of infrastructure power consumption for TowerCos
and mobile network operators (MNOs).
Additionally, Mr. Miller has been a board member and
advisor to the Autonomy Institute since 2020, which is cooperative
research consortium aligning government, industry, academia
and the public to create policies, markets, jobs and community
benefits of autonomy to build intelligent, digital and
autonomous infrastructure for the 21st Century. He has served,
since 2023, as the President of 4M
Management Partners, LLC, which is the investment advisor to
two investment funds, Boots Parallel 1, LP and Boots, LP. Mr.
Miller received a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1973 from
The University of Texas
(Austin) and a Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University in 1976.
Tripp H. Rice, 40
Tripp H. Rice has more than 18
years in investing and financial roles across a range of
businesses. His career started as an analyst at Bear, Stearns &
Co., an investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm,
from 2006 to 2008. During this period, Mr. Rice worked in leveraged
finance, where he developed financial models, performed industry
research and wrote capital commitment committee memorandum for
leveraged buyouts and acquisitions of non-investment grade
companies across industry verticals. In 2008, Mr. Rice transitioned
to a principal investing role as an Associate at Wellspring Capital
Management, a private equity firm, where he was responsible for
investment due diligence, underwriting and execution. In 2011, he
transitioned from Wellspring Capital Management to work for Tulcan,
L.P., a family office investing firm. While at Tulcan Mr. Rice
continued his responsibilities as an investment professional
including valuation, due diligence, execution and monitoring for
private equity style investments.
Following Tulcan, Mr. Rice transitioned to his current employer,
4M Investments, LLC ("4M") in 2014 where he currently holds the title
of Partner. In his role with 4M he
continues to be responsible for investment due diligence,
underwriting and execution. Mr. Rice's responsibilities stretch
across various investments: (i) evaluation of telecommunication
companies globally across the capital structure including the US,
Europe, Asia, Australia, Eastern
Europe, Africa (ii) BC
Business Park GP, LLC, a real estate development company, where he
serves as a Vice President overseeing all aspects of strategy,
financing and execution, (iii) Park Ten GP, LLC, a real estate
development company, where he serves as Secretary overseeing all
aspects of strategy, financing and execution, (iv) 4M HR Logistics, LLC, an international government
and defense contractor and aviation business, where he has served
as President, Chief Financial Officer and Board Member since 2014,
(v) Visual Intelligence, LP, an international imaging technologies
company focused on automating telecommunications workflows using
digital twins, where he has served as President, Chief Financial
Officer and Board Member since 2016 and (vi) PowerX Technology Ltd,
which leverages artificial intelligence to automate the management
of infrastructure power consumption for TowerCos and mobile network
operators (MNOs), where he has served as an Advisory Board Member
since 2023. Furthermore, Mr. Rice has served, since 2023, as the
Vice President of 4M Management
Partners, LLC, which is the investment advisor to two investment
funds, Boots Parallel 1, LP and Boots, LP. Overall, during his
career Mr. Rice has spent considerable time in financial, executive
and board level positions, engaging with all stakeholders. To
execute in these various capacities, he has worked with a variety
of subject matter expert service providers, including investment
banking, finance, legal, accounting, tax and operations.
Mr. Rice received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree with
Distinction (concentrations in finance and management) from the
University of Virginia in 2006.
Charles C. Green III,
77
Charles H. Green is an esteemed
industry leader with over 50 years of comprehensive experience
across asset management (VP, JP Morgan 13 years), commercial
property development President, Treptow Development Company 10
years), oil and gas (President, Torch Energy Advisers 8 years), and
telecommunications.
Over the course of his 26-year tenure in the tower industry, he
has overseen 23 tower Sale/Leaseback and carve-out transactions in
15 countries spanning 4 continents.
In the capacities as CEO or CFO, Mr. Green has built and managed
large-scale tower operations globally. Notably, as the
founding CFO, Global Head of Finance, and EVP at Crown Castle
International (CCI), the world's first tower company, he
played a pivotal role in the company's success. During
his tenure from 1997-2001, he raised capital exceeding
$5.5 billion, executed 10 significant
sale/leaseback and master lease transactions, and led CCI's
successful IPO on NASDAQ, followed by its transition to the
NYSE.
Charles led the Tower Company Industry into Africa in 2005, co-founding Helios Towers
Nigeria, the first TowerCo in Africa. Serving as an advisor and
Non-Executive Director for a decade, he contributed to the
company's growth until its acquisition by IHS Towers in 2016. In
2009, he co-founded Helios Towers Africa Ltd, and led its
development into a $2 billion LSE
listed company, operating over 7,000 sites across 5 markets in
2017. Charles advised Axiata Group on the carveout of their towers
in 2012 and ultimately served as an executive mentor and
Non-Executive Director of Edotco Group, the largest Tower Company
in South Asia (over 31,500
towers), from 2013 to 2022, contributing to its strategic
committees. He also served as a distinguished member of the
Supervisory Board of Vantage Towers AG overseeing 84,600 towers,
the largest towerco in Europe. Notably he chaired the Audit, Risk and
Compliance Committee, playing a key role in guiding the
company through its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in
March 2022.
His leadership continued until the Company's acquisition by
Oak Holdings, a KKR/GIP consortium in July, 2023. In collaboration
with the IFC, Mr. Green served as Launch CEO and Chair of the tower
industry advocacy firm, International Digital Infrastructure
Alliance (IDIA) from 2019 to 2020 when it was merged with
Small Cell Forum.
Charles currently serves as Director of PowerX Technology, where
he leverages his expertise in large-scale data analytics and
artificial intelligence (AI) innovation to enhance mobile tower
operational performance. Additionally, he holds key positions
as a Senior Advisor and Non-Executive Director for Pinnacle
Towers Pte Ltd, in partnership with KKR, and serves as Co-founder
and Vice Chair of Amane Towers SA and as designated Vice Chair
of Digital Holdings Limited, the parent of TASC Towers,
the largest towerco in MENA. His advisory role extends to
Delmec Engineering Ltd. Charles's career has earned him
industry recognition, including the inaugural
Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tower Industry by
TowerXchange in 2016 and acknowledgment as a TowerXchange Top 20
Industry Executive in 2020.
Commencing his professional career at JP Morgan Asset
Management in 1969, Charles holds BBA and MBA degrees from The
University of Texas at Austin and
is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
David P. Wheeler, 71
David P. Wheeler has more than 45
years of investment banking experience. Mr. Wheeler has served
as a senior international financial advisor and independent
director and has extensive expertise in the media and telecom
industries. Mr. Wheeler has been a pioneer in the tower industry,
having advised on the first ever significant European tower
transaction for Castle Communications' purchase of the BBC
Transmission Division, which was financed by the first ever £
denominated high yield bond. He also led the Credit Suisse
team which acted as Global Coordinator on the first ever European
tower IPO for RaiWay Italy in 2014. Throughout his career, Mr.
Wheeler has provided trusted, strategic, and tactical advice
to senior management, aiding boards in navigating strategic and
financial challenges and opportunities.
Additionally, he has served as a coach and mentor to CEOs and
CFOs, offering thoughtful and informed counsel. As a board
member and an advisor, Mr. Wheeler has experience in team
building, motivation, negotiation and conflict resolution.
Mr. Wheeler began his career at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and
served as a Managing Director of the Strategic Advisory Group
from 1989 to 1991. From 1991 to 1996 he worked as a Managing
Director in the Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers
Inc., where he built the European Media
& Telecommunications Group from zero to 25 bankers in four
years.
He transitioned from Lehman Brothers Inc. to Credit Suisse
/ Credit Suisse First Boston in 1996 and spent the next 27 years
until 2023 building the European Media & Telecommunications
Group, first as a Managing Director and then as Vice Chairman
of Credit Suisse Europe and Chairman of the group. As the Chairman
of the European Investment Banking Committee, Mr. Wheeler was
responsible for approving new clients, valuations and fairness
opinions and securities underwritings and ensuring deal teams have
undertaken appropriate due diligence, adequacy of disclosure
and sound analysis.
He acts as a Senior Advisor and Chairman at Bartons Family
Capital since 2022.
Mr. Wheeler has served as a Senior Advisor to Committed Capital
Ltd ("Committed Capital"), a development and growth capital
investment fund, since 2013. In that role he identifies and
introduces investors, source investment opportunities and
review investment proposals. He has been a Board Member of DK
Group NV ("DK Group") since 2007, which is a significant
shareholder in a development-stage sustainable ship-design
technology company.
From 2009 to 2018, Mr. Wheeler served as the
Lead Independent Director and the Chairman of the Executive
Committee of Orbit Showtime Networks ("OSN"), which was the
largest media company in the Middle
East & North Africa.
The Executive Committee of OSN includes the functions of
Remuneration and Nomination Committees. From 2008 to 2015 he served
as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of O-Zone Networks PVT Ltd
("O-Zone Networks"), India's
largest WiFi operator. He served as a Board Member and the Chairman
of the Compensation Committee of Miniweb Interactive Ltd
("Miniweb") from 2007 to 2011, which is the management buyout of
Sky TV's research and development department.
From 2002 to 2005 Mr. Wheeler served as the Vice Chairman
and a Board Member of the European Competitive Telecommunications
Association, which is a leading industry organization for European
alternative telecom operators. In 2001, he served as a Board Member
of Deutsche Telekom Mobile Netherlands (Ben NL) ("Deutsche
Telekom Mobile Netherlands"), a leading integrated
telecommunications company. Mr. Wheeler also served as
a Trustee, Vice Chair of the Board and Chairman of the
Development Committee of Bowdoin
College from 2003 to 2023.
Mr. Wheeler received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum
laude, from Bowdoin College and a
Masters of Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton
Business School of the University of
Pennsylvania.
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SOURCE Boots Capital Management, LLC