Broadband and optical movers and shakers: Airties taps former Nokia Japan head Lancaster-Lennox to lead Asia expansion; FiberLight strengthens C-Suite with new CFO and CTO

Airties taps former Nokia Japan head Lancaster-Lennox to lead Asia expansion
Airties has named John Lancaster-Lennox, former Representative Corporate Officer and President of Nokia Japan, to lead Airties’ expansion efforts across Asia. Lancaster-Lennox will oversee a new regional office based in Tokyo that is designated to serve Airties’ customers and partners throughout the region. Before joining Airties, Lancaster-Lennox spent 18 years at Nokia in various leadership positions across Asia, including Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, and most recently served as President and Representative Corporate Officer of Nokia Japan. Earlier in his career, he also held management roles at Bechtel and Open Mobile. In his new role at Airties, Lancaster-Lennox will report to Airties' CEO and founder, Metin Taskin.

AT&T veteran Hetrick takes the helm as GeoLinks CEO
GeoLinks announced Kevin Hetrick as its new CEO. Effective immediately, Hetrick steps in with over 25 years of telecom and wireless industry leadership experience. Hetrick comes to GeoLinks from Strategic Venue Partners (SVP), where he spearheaded operations for advanced wireless solutions across essential sectors as the company's COO. Before SVP, Hetrick spent more than two decades at AT&T, ascending to Vice President of Wireless Radio Access, Construction and Engineering, where he was instrumental in AT&T’s 5G Network deployment and other critical AT&T infrastructure projects. Earning both a Master’s in Telecommunications from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from West Virginia University, Hetrick’s extensive background includes shaping U.S. and global tower strategies and leading regional network initiatives.

FiberLight strengthens C-Suite with new CFO and CTO
FiberLight has named Shane Ward CFO and Chuck Girt CTO. Ward brings over 20 years of financial expertise in corporate finance and strategic growth initiatives. Most recently, he served as CFO at Lumos Fiber, establishing the company’s financial operations from the ground up, including accounting, financial planning and analysis, and corporate development. Before Lumos, he served as CFO of CTI Towers, overseeing financial operations for a company managing wireless tower sites nationwide. He also held key roles at American Tower Corporation and Sun Life Financial, where his leadership and innovative approach drove strengthened financial controls, operational improvements, and a culture of continuous improvement.

Girt, a 30-year telecom veteran, joins FiberLight after leading technology innovation and network architecture at Everstream Solutions. While there, he built a 13-state network from the ground up, deploying over 27,000 miles of fiber optics and over 220 core nodes. Girt also led cross-functional teams spanning network operations, engineering, IT, construction, and sales engineering while setting company-wide technology and operations standards.

GeoLinks names Willis as CFO
GeoLinks has brought Lynda Willis on board as its new Chief Financial Officer. With over 25 years of experience in finance and strategic business planning and a deep background in the telecommunications industry, Willis will lead GeoLink's financial strategy across its broadband operations and nationwide Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) business. In addition to key financial leadership positions at Tuff Boy Sales, Clark Pacific, and Core-Mark International, her career includes telecommunications experience in senior roles at Frontier Communications, where she led financial operations for the West Region and national procurement. Willis holds an MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, focusing on Accounting, from California State University, Chico.

STL promotes Rahul Puri as CEO of its optical networking business
STL has immediately promoted Rahul Puri to the CEO of Optical Networking Business (ONB). Rahul has served as EMEA and APAC's VP and General Manager. Puri is an accomplished business leader with over 24 years of global cross-functional expertise in business development, sales, marketing, operations and product management.

Throughout his career, Rahul has worked with some of the world’s top technology and telecom companies, including Apple, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Reliance, and Airtel, across diverse geographies.

Tilson taps Walker to head up central region initiatives
Tilson Infrastructure has named Karen Walker Director of Business Development in the Central Region. Walker will be responsible for developing the macro tower, small cell, and fiber front/backhaul solutions for national and regional carriers.

Previously, Walker was a Director of US Business Development at a global tower developer. Walker resides in Ohio and is a Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum and Wireless Infrastructure Association member. She studied International Business at the University of Colorado, Denver, and is a licensed Real Estate Broker.

Vantage Data Centers brings on a new CFO and SVP
Vantage Data Centers has enhanced its management team, appointing Christophe Strauven as CFO in North America. Strauven, formerly senior vice president of capital markets, previously oversaw the development and execution of the company’s global capital-raising strategy through debt financing and financial risk management. As CFO of North America, assuming the role of Dave Renner, Strauven will lead the finance, financial planning and analysis, accounting, and tax functions across the United States and Canada. Rich Cosgray will succeed Strauven as senior vice president of capital markets. Cosgray brings over 16 years of TMT banking and finance experience to the Vantage team. He joins the company from Truist Securities, where he most recently served as managing director and head of TMT leveraged finance. He is based at Vantage’s corporate headquarters in Denver and reports to Sharif Metwalli, the global CFO.

Vivacity Infrastructure Group tasks Fowler to drive business development
Vivacity Infrastructure Group has named Jessica Fowler Vice President of Business Development - Northeast. In this role, Fowler will spearhead market growth and lead initiatives that support and elevate the company’s presence across the Northeast region of the U.S. Fowler joins Vivacity Infrastructure Group with more than 10 years of industry experience, including previous roles with Lit Communities/Lit Fiber, Project Delivery Associates and NorthwestConneCT, where she developed a proven track record of fostering long-term partnerships, driving growth in new markets, and delivering innovative strategies to expand communications infrastructure. Before Lit, Fowler served as Chief Operating Officer at Project Delivery Associates and Vice President at NorthwestConneCT. She graduated from Bernard Baruch College with a master’s in public administration.