Who Founded Crown Castle?

Ted B. Miller Jr. founded Castle Tower in Houston in 1994 with 133 towers and private equity backing, and served as chief executive in the company's early years through 2001. He led the company through its UK expansion and 1998 IPO. In February 2024 he returned as an activist shareholder, nominating four directors and criticizing the fiber strategy; the board's nominees were elected at the 2024 annual meeting, but the company later sold the fiber business he had opposed. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Edward C. Hutcheson Jr. co-founded Crown Castle in 1994. Recognizing the massive, impending explosion of cellular phone usage, he helped pioneer the business model of buying towers from telecom carriers and leasing the space back to multiple carriers simultaneously. This highly lucrative, recurring-revenue model laid the foundation for the entire modern cell tower industry. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).