When American Tower Corporation (ATC) CFO Bradley Singer left the Boston-based company in 2008 for his new role as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications, LLC, he reflected upon his eight years at the company, stating,” I am gratified with what we have achieved together, and I believe that American Tower’s strategic and financial position and talented leadership team will enable the company to continue to succeed as a leader in the telecommunications industry.”
Newly minted director Bradley Singer comes to Crown Castle on a high note. This evening, the company reported profitability in the fourth quarter that surpassed Wall Street expectations. The company said it had funds from operations of $790 million, or $1.82 per share in Q4. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was $1.79 per share. Their stock closed today at $105.56, down $2.39 (-2.21%).
However, Singer now wants to cut into ATC’s dominance after accepting a board position from his former arch-competitor, Crown Castle, surprising many industry observers.
Earlier in December, Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown had stepped down after mounting pressure from activist investor Elliot Investment, which has a $2 billion stake in the company.
Singer’s onboarding likely was to assist Elliott in changing the board’s profile and Crown Castle’s direction that has been criticized by Elliot.
Crown Castle announced last week that Singer had been appointed as a Board member, serving on the Audit Committee, where he will have a critical role in overseeing many aspects of the company’s activities and performance, focusing on financial reporting and related internal controls, risk, independent and internal auditors, and ethics and compliance.
As part of the company’s non-employee director compensation, on January 17, 2024, the effective date of Singer’s appointment, he received 891 shares of Crown Castle stock valued at $90,477.
Crown Castle’s Board of Directors has been expanded to 12 members with the appointment of Singer. The company also announced that former CEO and President Jay Brown will continue to be employed in an advisory capacity at his same salary until June 6, 2024, to assist in leadership transitions.
Singer, who has been credited by many as one of the primary leaders responsible for the success of American Tower, was well-compensated by the towerco. In 2005, his total compensation was $4.2 million, eclipsing then-CEO James Taiclet’s $3.9 million.
According to Benzinga, Singer’s net worth, as of June 2023, was estimated to be about $3.26 billion.
“Brad’s extensive financial, investment and telecom industry experience adds valuable depth to our board,” said P. Robert Bartolo, Chair of the Crown Castle Board of Directors.
“We look forward to benefitting from his expertise as we continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance shareholder value from Crown Castle’s leading portfolio of communications infrastructure,’ Bartolo added.
Singer retired as Partner and Chief Operating Officer of ValueAct Capital in December 2021. He is a former director of Citizens Communications Corp., Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., Motorola Solutions, Inc., and Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. Before his employment at American Tower, Singer worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co. He joined the Redfin Corp Board of Directors in March 2022 and serves as Chair of the National Board for the Posse Foundation. He is also a member of the McIntire School of Commerce board at the University of Virginia. He has a B.S. from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School.