Steven Bernstein, 48, our founder, has served as our Chairman since inception in 1989 and was our Chief Executive Officer from 1989 to 2001. Mr. Bernstein is also the Manager of (1) Bernstein Realty LLC, a real estate brokerage he uses for sourcing his own personal commercial real estate investments, (2) Louisville Bernstein LLC, majority investor in a 100 acre industrial development in Louisville, KY and (3) Shoppes of Winter Park LLC, the sole owner of a 40,000 square foot shopping center in the Orlando area. Mr. Bernstein has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Real Estate from the University of Florida. Mr. Bernstein is also a visiting professor at Lynn University, and serves on the board of various local charities.
Jeffrey A. Stoops is President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of SBA Communications Corporation. He has been Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2002. He was appointed President in April 2000 and has been a director since August 1999. Mr. Stoops served as Chief Financial Officer from December 1998 to April 2000. He joined the company in March 1997, initially responsible for finance, capital market activities, mergers and acquisitions and legal matters of the Company. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Stoops was a partner with Gunster Yoakley & Stewart, a Florida based law firm, where he practiced for thirteen years in the corporate, securities and mergers and acquisitions areas. Mr. Stoops is a past Chairman of the Personal Communications Industry Association, the trade organization for the wireless communications infrastructure industry, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of St. Andrew's School and on the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. He received his Bachelors of Science and Juris Doctor degrees from Florida State University.
Kurt Bagwell, President, International, started with SBA in 2001 and became the Chief Operating Officer a year later. His current duties include the day to day development and management of the company's growing international operations in Canada and Central America. Mr. Bagwell has over two decades of expertise in the wireless industry, having held various management positions at Centel Cellular, Sprint Cellular and Sprint PCS. In his previous role of Chief Operating Officer at SBA, Mr. Bagwell managed the company's Tower Operations, Services, New Tower Builds and Managed Sites divisions for eight years. While at Sprint PCS from 1995 through 2001, Mr. Bagwell oversaw the initial buildout of the Eastern United States, in addition to the expanded buildout of over 10,000 cell sites nationwide. Mr. Bagwell has a Bachelors of Science degree in Administrative Management from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
Thomas P. Hunt, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, joined SBA in September, 2000. Prior to joining SBA, Mr. Hunt was a partner with Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A., a South Florida law firm, where he practiced for 16 years in the corporate and real estate areas. Mr. Hunt is a member of the Florida Bar and received his B.A. in economics from Brown University, magna cum laude, and his J.D. from the University of Florida, with high honors.
Brendan T. Cavanagh, has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since September 2008. Mr. Cavanagh joined SBA in 1998 and has held various positions with us including serving as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer from June 2004 to September 2008, Vice President Site Administration from January 2003 to June 2004 and Financial Analyst Mergers and Acquisitions. Prior to joining SBA, Mr. Cavanagh was a senior accountant for Arthur Andersen where he was employed for 3 years. Mr. Cavanagh is a Certified Public Accountant and received his B.S. in Accounting from Wake Forest University and his Masters of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University.
Jason Silberstein, Vice President, Property Management, joined the Company in December 1993 and is currently responsible for the overall operations and management of SBA owned towers. Mr. Silberstein has been in his current role for approximately eleven years and his responsibilities include Tower Space Sales & Marketing, Site Leasing, Records Management and Site Monitoring. Previously, Mr. Silberstein was successful in a variety of roles for SBA, including Regional Director for Florida, Director of SBA's Collocation Division and Director of Business Development. Mr. Silberstein is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he majored in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance.
Mark Ciarfella, Senior Vice President, Operations for SBA, started with the organization in 2007. He is responsible for the company's tower operations, services business and new tower development activities. Mr. Ciarfella was formerly the Vice President, New Builds at SBA where he managed the organization's new tower development activities. Prior to joining SBA, Mr. Ciarfella was the co-owner of a Florida-based site development services company that provided site acquisition, zoning, construction management and program management services to the wireless telecommunication industry. Mr. Ciarfella has over a decade of experience in the wireless telecommunication business working directly with PrimeCo Personal Communications and as a consultant for multiple other carriers and tower companies. Mr. Ciarfella has a Bachelors of Science degree in Public Affairs from Florida Atlantic University.
William J. Bates
Vice President - Business Development
Bill Bates has served as our Vice President, Business Development since November 2001. Prior to joining SBA Mr. Bates spent 12 years with Radian Communications Services Corporation in a variety of positions including Director, Business Development and Project Manager - International Division. Mr. Bates has managed tower and site deployments in numerous countries throughout the world and has over 18 years experience in the tower and site development industries.
Jorge Grau
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Jorge Grau has served as our Vice President and Chief Information Officer since January 2006. Mr. Grau joined SBA in August 2003 as the Vice President of Information Technology. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Grau served as the Chief Information Officer of Bentley's Luggage Corporation from 1989 to 2002. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of Information Technology and holds an MBA from the University of Miami with a Specialization in Computer Information Systems and a BBA from Florida International University with a Major in Management Information Systems and a Minor in Computer Science.
Larry Harris
Vice President-Mergers and Acquisitions
Larry Harris has served as Vice President-Mergers and Acquisitions since March 2009. Mr. Harris has been a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions group at SBA since 1998 during which time he has been involved in over 400 transactions for the acquisition of over 5,000 towers. Mr. Harris has held various management positions within the organization including Strategic Development, Real Estate Restructure and Site Acquisition
Tom Hoffman
Vice President-Southeast Region
Tom Hoffman has served as Vice President-Southeast Region since March 2009. Mr. Hoffman joined SBA in May 1997 and has held various positions with the Company, including Director of Construction SE Region and Vice President of Construction Communication Site Services, Inc. Most recently, he has served as General Manager Construction SE Region since May 2000. Prior to joining SBA, Mr. Hoffman held various positions within the Telecommunication Industry with Valmont Industries, Inc., AirNet Communications Corp. and Telecommunications Group, Inc. Mr. Hoffman is a Certified General Contractor - State of Florida and a Certified Public Utilities Contractor - State Of North Carolina.
Joseph M. Lane
Vice President-Site Management
Joseph M. Lane has served as Vice President-Site Management since March of 2009 after serving as Director-Site Management since August 1998. Mr. Lane joined SBA in July of 1995 and held various positions in project management until 1998. In his current position Mr. Lane is responsible for the day to day operations and maintenance of SBA's tower portfolio and Network Operations Control Center. Prior to joining the company Mr. Lane was a Systems Engineer for PageNet in North and South Carolina. Mr. Lane has over 25 years experience in the wireless telecommunications business
Brian D. Lazarus
Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Brian D. Lazarus has served as our Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since September 2008. Mr. Lazarus joined SBA in October 2006 as the Company's Corporate Controller. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Lazarus was the Corporate Controller for AllianceCare, a privately owned multi-state health care organization, from December 2003 until October 2006. From April 2001 to December 2003, Mr. Lazarus was a Senior Audit Manager with Ernst & Young LLP. Previously, Mr. Lazarus spent six years with KPMG LLP. Mr. Lazarus is a Certified Public Accountant and received his B.S. in Accounting from Babson College.
Don Mueller
Vice President, Managed Sites
Don Mueller has served as our Vice President Managed Sites since September 2008. Don is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and has over 30 years of commercial and military wireless experience. Prior to joining the company, Don spent 10 years with Sprint where he was involved in both microwave relocation and the development efforts of the Northeast Region.
Jo Carol Rutherford
Vice President, Human Resources
Jo Carol Rutherford joined SBA in July 2001 as Vice President Human Resources. Prior to joining SBA, Jo Carol spent 9 years with Invacare Corporation, an ISO certified manufacturer of home health care products. From 1998 until 2001, she was Corporate Director of Human Resources for Dixon Ticonderoga where she managed all HR functions to include collective bargaining, plant consolidations and organization restructuring. Jo Carol has a Bachelors degree in Organizational Psychology, a Masters of Business Administration and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources.
Neil Seidman
Vice President-Mergers and Acquisitions
Neil Seidman, Vice President-Mergers and Acquisitions has served SBA in merger and acquisition activity since June 1997. From June 1997 to December 2001, Mr. Seidman served as our Director of Acquisitions and Associate General Counsel. From January 2002 to December 2008, Mr. Seidman served as the Company's primary outside mergers and acquisitions counsel as a partner in the law firm of Seidman, Prewitt, DiBello & Lopez, P.A. On January 1, 2009, Mr. Seidman rejoined SBA as our Vice President Mergers and Acquisitions. Mr. Seidman is a member of Florida, New York, Maryland and Washington D.C. bars.
David Tribble
Vice President, Construction Services
David Tribble has served as our Vice President - Construction Services since May 2000. Mr. Tribble joined us in January 2000 as Director of Construction Project Management. Prior to joining us, Mr. Tribble was employed for 31 years in various capacities with Lucent Technologies, Inc.
Jim D. Williamson
Regional Vice President, Southeast
Jim D. Williamson has served as our Vice President - Southeast Region since January 2001. Mr. Williamson joined us in October 1995 and has held various positions with us, including Program Manager, Project Director responsible for network buildouts, Corporate Director of Build to Suit Support, Director of Due Diligence with overall responsibility for SBA's corporate Strategic Siting Initiative, Territory Manager for Alabama, Mississippi and Northeast Florida and General Manager for the Southeast Region. Prior to joining us, Mr. Williamson was employed for 28 years in various capacities with BellSouth.