Advisory Committee
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Kenny Blakeslee serves as the Chairman of the Tower Industry Family Support Charitable Foundation Advisory Committee. He is the founder and CEO of Apex Site Solutions and Pulse Signal Solutions, providing an array of services to the wireless infrastructure industry. Kenny is a second-generation tower climber and his first visit to a tower construction site was in Elementary School when he spent a full day with his father during a “Take Your Child to Work Day.” (Safety standards less stringent back then) Kenny launched Apex Site Solutions, a DVBE, in 2010 with just one employee and has grown it to a team of more than 100. His passion lies in paying forward the life the tower industry has given him by helping his team build successful careers for themselves. The company mission of both Apex and Pulse is “To transform lives by providing growth and development opportunities that empower our people.” They do this through comprehensive and innovative professional development programs and by an obsession with raising industry standards for safety, culture, and people empowerment. 1% better every day! Kenny helped launch the T.A.T.E initiative which empowers the telecommunications and tower industries to do their part in the fight against human trafficking. Kenny lives in Northern California with his wife, Brooke, and two sons, Boston and Colton. |
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Todd Schlekeway serves as the NATE President & CEO. He works in unison with the Chair, Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer to provide leadership, vision and direction for the Association. Prior to joining NATE, Todd served in the South Dakota Legislature and also worked for seven years as the founder and principal of a public affairs and communications firm. |
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Victor Drouin serves as the Vice President of the Tower Industry Family Support Charitable Foundation. He is the President of Green Mountain Communications, Inc., located in Pembroke, New Hampshire. He began his telecommunications career in 1981 and has owned and operated Green Mountain for over 20 years. Green Mountain’s experienced team has been assessing the challenges faced by businesses and delivering communication solutions that integrate the most advanced technologies. They currently employ approximately 70 industry professionals and primarily service the Northeast Region. |
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Christian Hillabrant has worked in senior executive roles across major global wireless operators, equipment manufacturers and services companies. His expertise spans operations, engineering, sales, marketing, logistics, and finance. Mr. Hillabrant joined Tillman Infrastructure in 2019 from Samsung Electronics where he served as VPGM for Samsung’s two largest global accounts: AT&T and Verizon, generating $5B+ in annual revenues. He led a major transformation program restoring growth and profitability after 3 consecutive years of falling sales. From 2012- 2017, Mr. Hillabrant worked at Ericsson where he was Chief Operations Officer for Western Europe, Chief Operations Officer for North America, and a Board member of Ericsson Deutschland. Mr. Hillabrant has held numerous executive roles at T-Mobile and PrimeCo (a Verizon predecessor company) in Engineering, Operations, Sales and Marketing. Mr. Hillabrant graduated from Skidmore College and received his MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. |
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Dr. Bridgette Hester is a full-time Doctoral Adjunct and researcher by trade; her area of research is telecommunication construction. Dr. Hester was the President of Hubble Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to workers at elevation, specifically telecommunication workers. Through the Foundation, her work with the organization included interactions with board members, families of the fallen, injured and actively working telecommunication workers, and non-profit supporters. Her comprehensive experience acquired through her position as a researcher and her time as president of Hubble Foundation includes data collection, auditing, research, and analysis, all of which will be an added benefit to the advisory board of the Tower Family Foundation. |
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Since graduating from Kutztown University in 1991, Mr. Chris Pleibel has focused on both professional, educational and social growth. His professional development and leadership skills started early from a strong family upbringing, student government roles, Eagle Scout and Capitan of high school teams. He has been the President of the Pennsylvania Wireless Association for the past 7 years. Mr. Pleibel assisted and directed efforts to support Penn State’s Childers’s Hospital and resulted in over $650,000 in charitable giving. He has produced numerous conferences and networking events that showcase thorough leadership in the wireless infrastructure field. He is a Vice President at PerfectVision Manufacturing. He and his team are a leading distributor and manufacture supporting wireless infrastructure construction. Prior to PerfectVision, Chris led the growth of Primus Electronics. He has held sales roles at Andrew Corporation, Summit Manufacturing and MTS Wireless Components. He lives in Sellersville, PA with his wife and three children. He is currently or has held the following volunteer positions:
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Jon Eastman serves as the President of VIKOR Teleconstruction and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as a leader to VIKOR. He received his B.A. and MBA degrees from the University of Sioux Falls and as well as a MA of Leadership degree from Lindenwood University where he is also currently finishing his Doctorate. Prior to working for VIKOR, Jon coached football at the college level for 9 years and was instrumental in helping his teams develop brotherhood, cultural strength, winning, and championships. Throughout his career as a college athlete, coach, and executive, he has helped bring his teams to the next level. Jon has a personal passion for people, organizational and corporate development and has been a positive impact on some of the recent growth of VIKOR.
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