Beyond COVID-19: How M&A is driving growth in telecom, digital infrastructure and cloud services

Speaker Profile

Jim Eisenstein is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Grupo TorreSur, a Latin American focused wireless tower company. Formed in November 2010, the Company is a leading independent wireless tower company in Brazil, owning and operating over 6,000 sites throughout the country (pro forma for pending acquisitions). Grupo TorreSur is backed by Providence Equity Partners, a preeminent private equity firms.

Prior to co-founding Grupo TorreSur, Mr. Eisenstein was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Optasite Holding Company, Inc. Mr. Eisenstein took over Optasite at the end of 2003 and transformed the Company from a struggling wireless services provider into the nation’s second largest privately held wireless tower company, with nearly 600 strategically located towers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Under Mr. Eisenstein, the Company raised over $250 million in equity and debt financing and grew to $23 million in tower cash flow. In July 2008, Optasite was sold to SBA Communications in a transaction valued at over $450 Million, a multiple of 19.5 times tower cash flow.

Prior to joining Optasite, Mr. Eisenstein was Chief Executive Officer of Concourse Communications Group LLC, the leading developer and operator of in-building distributed antenna systems in the nation’s largest transportation venues, including New York (LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark Airports, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, the New York/New Jersey Port Authority Bus Terminal and PATH train stations), as well as international airports in Detroit, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Toronto. Mr. Eisenstein joined Concourse Communications in 2003 and directed the successful sale of the Company late that year.

Prior to joining Concourse, Mr. Eisenstein was Chief Development Officer of American Tower Corporation, the largest owner and operator of wireless and broadcast towers in North America. Mr. Eisenstein’s primary responsibilities were to seek out and oversee all acquisition and development opportunities for the Company. Mr. Eisenstein co-founded American Tower in 1995 and previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Company. After growing the Company to more than 16,000 towers, Mr. Eisenstein retired from American Tower in 2003.

Before co-founding American Tower, Mr. Eisenstein was a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Amaturo Group, Ltd. from 1990 to 1995. Amaturo Group owned and operated 11 radio stations in some of the nation’s fastest growing markets, including West Palm Beach, San Bernardino, Austin and Nashville. The stations were sold in 1995 to American Radio Systems (the predecessor company to American Tower) for $117.5 Million.

From 1988 to 1990, Mr. Eisenstein was Deputy General Counsel of Home Shopping Network. As Deputy General Counsel, Mr. Eisenstein was responsible for all transactional work of the Company. Among many other transactions, Mr. Eisenstein led the acquisition of eleven television stations, all in top fifteen markets throughout the United States.

Prior to joining Home Shopping Network, Mr. Eisenstein was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom from 1986 to 1988 and at Vinson & Elkins from 1984 to 1986.

Mr. Eisenstein is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.