American Tower Corporation

Communications Infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)Founded 1995- HQ today: Boston, Massachusetts

Leadership History

American Tower: CEO History

4 leaders · 1995 to present

Who is the CEO of American Tower?

Steven Vondran is the CEO of American Tower, in the role since 2024. The first chief executive was Steven B. Dodge, from 1995.

Current CEO: Steven Vondran (since 2024)
First CEO: Steven B. Dodge (1995)
Leaders documented: 4
Founded: 1995

Name	Role	From	To	Years in role
Steven Vondran	President and Chief Executive Officer	2024	Present	2
Tom Bartlett	Former President and Chief Executive Officer	2020	2024	4
James Taiclet	Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	2003	2020	17
Steven B. Dodge	Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	1995	2003	8

Who was CEO of American Tower before Steven Vondran?: Tom Bartlett was CEO of American Tower from 2020 to 2024, before Steven Vondran took over in 2024.

Company Overview

American Tower owns the physical infrastructure behind mobile networks rather than the networks themselves. It ended 2025 with 149,686 communications sites, which it leases to carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Telefonica and Airtel Africa, and it owns CoreSite, a US data center operator with 30 facilities in 11 markets. Because the company is a REIT, most of the cash those leases generate is paid back out as dividends. FY2025 revenue was $10.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $7.1 billion. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Steven Vondran

President and Chief Executive Officer

2024 – Present

2 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Closed the September 2024 sale of ATC India; committed roughly 85% of 2026 discretionary capital spending to developed markets, including more than $700 million for data center development; resumed share repurchases, buying about $365 million of stock in 2025.

Legacy

Became president and chief executive officer on February 1, 2024, succeeding Tom Bartlett. Vondran joined American Tower in 2000 and ran the US Tower Division, including its data center business, then served as global chief operating officer. In his first two years he completed the exit from India, brought net leverage to 4.9 times adjusted EBITDA at the end of 2025, and grew data center revenue about 14% in 2025 while US and Canada property revenue was flat. FY2025 revenue was $10,645 million with adjusted EBITDA of $7.1 billion.

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Tom Bartlett

Former President and Chief Executive Officer

2020 – 2024

4 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Approved the Telxius Towers and CoreSite transactions in 2021; closed the $3.5 billion InSite Wireless deal in December 2020, which brought the first Canadian sites; shifted the company toward deleveraging as interest rates rose.

Legacy

Joined American Tower as chief financial officer in April 2009 after a career at Verizon Communications and its predecessor companies, and became president and chief executive officer effective March 16, 2020. He oversaw the 2021 expansion that added roughly 31,000 Telxius Towers sites in Europe and Latin America and the $10.1 billion CoreSite acquisition that moved the company into data centers, and he began the review of the India business that ended in its sale. He retired effective February 1, 2024.

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James Taiclet

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2003 – 2020

17 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Converted the company to a REIT effective January 1, 2012 and began regular quarterly dividends; bought SpectraSite in 2005 and Global Tower Partners in 2013; took exclusive rights to about 11,324 Verizon towers in 2015; pushed into India, Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa for growth.

Legacy

Joined American Tower in 2001 as president and chief operating officer, was named chief executive officer on October 10, 2003 and became chairman in February 2004. He took the company international, adding sites across Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia, and led the reorganization that made American Tower a REIT for the taxable year beginning January 1, 2012. Its equity market value rose from about $2.4 billion at the end of 2003 to roughly $101.8 billion at the end of 2019. He left in 2020 to become chief executive of Lockheed Martin.

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Steven B. Dodge

Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1995 – 2003

8 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Built the tower business inside a radio group rather than as a standalone startup; chose a neutral host model open to competing carriers; separated the towers from the radio stations in the 1998 CBS transaction; funded early expansion with debt, which left the company exposed when the telecom market broke in 2001 and 2002.

Legacy

Created American Tower as a tower division inside American Radio Systems in 1995 on the premise that carriers would rather lease antenna space from a neutral operator than build their own structures. After CBS acquired American Radio Systems in June 1998, he led the separated company onto the New York Stock Exchange with more than 1,800 towers in 44 states and the District of Columbia and expanded it through portfolio purchases during the cellular build-out. He handed the chief executive role to James Taiclet in October 2003 and retired from the board in 2004.

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Challenges & Strategic Context

In the United States American Tower competes with Crown Castle and SBA Communications, and in data centers with Equinix and Digital Realty. The harder constraints are financial and regional. As a leveraged REIT it is exposed to interest rates, and net leverage finished 2025 at 4.9 times adjusted EBITDA. Domestic growth has slowed as carriers shifted from the initial C-band 5G build to network optimization, and US and Canada property revenue was flat year over year in 2025. Latin American property revenue fell 4.4% in 2025 on carrier churn and currency weakness, and management guided to a further organic decline of about 3% there in 2026 on roughly 8% churn. The 2024 exit from India removed the company's largest market by site count, leaving Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and CoreSite to carry expansion.

American Tower CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Steven O. Vondran and what is his background as CEO of American Tower?

Steven Vondran became President and CEO in February 2024; he joined American Tower in 2000, serving as Executive Vice President and President of the U.S. Tower Division, bringing deep experience in carrier leasing, M&A, and real estate operations.

Who was Tom Bartlett and what were his major achievements as American Tower CEO?

Tom Bartlett served as CEO from 2020 to 2024 (and CFO from 2009 to 2020), leading the landmark $10.1 billion acquisition of CoreSite, handling the post-pandemic 5G rollout, and structuring the strategic divestment of the India business.

Who was Jim Taiclet and how did he build American Tower into a global infrastructure giant?

Jim Taiclet served as CEO for over 16 years (from 2003 to 2020), expanding American Tower from a regional U.S. operator into an S&P 500 leader with over 180,000 international sites, before departing to become CEO of Lockheed Martin.

Who was Steven B. Dodge and what was his role as founding CEO of American Tower?

Steven Dodge founded American Tower in 1995 as a division of American Radio Systems, serving as its first CEO and Chairman through its 1998 spin-off and early aggressive consolidation of independent U.S. broadcast and telecom towers.

Who is the Chief Financial Officer managing American Tower's capital structure?

Rodney M. Smith serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of American Tower, managing international debt issuances, credit facility syndications, and capital allocation strategies.

How does the Board of Directors oversee ESG and governance at American Tower?

American Tower's Board consists of independent telecom, technology, and real estate leaders who govern capital investment thresholds, digital infrastructure cybersecurity, and environmental greenhouse gas reduction initiatives.

What executive succession planning process led to Steven Vondran's appointment?

American Tower executes multi-year internal executive development, promoting Steven Vondran after decades of leadership across U.S. operations, ensuring smooth continuity in carrier relationships and strategic execution.

How are executive bonuses and long-term incentives aligned with shareholder returns at American Tower?

Executive compensation is tied strictly to AFFO per share growth, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA performance, return on invested capital (ROIC), and relative total shareholder return (TSR) versus the MSCI REIT Index.

Who is the CEO of American Tower?

Steven Vondran took over as CEO in 2024, succeeding Tom Bartlett who led the company's massive international expansion.

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