Leadership

Joshua Broder serves as CEO and is the majority owner of Tilson, which under his leadership, has grown from less than 10 employees to 240 in seven years. From 2010-2013, Josh led several large, successful Recovery Act funded technology infrastructure projects in New England for Tilson that included 2,300 new miles of fiber optic cable and 7,000 smart grid wireless nodes. Josh cut his teeth in leadership and technology as an Army Signal Officer on missions in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan running the tactical communications network in support of US and coalition forces. Josh holds a Bachelor's degree from Middlebury College, is a distinguished military graduate of the University of Vermont's Military studies program and is a member of Leadership Maine's Omicron class. Josh is also a graduate of AT&T's Operation Hand Salute at JFK University. Josh serves on the boards of Kleinschmidt Associates (a multi-national engineering firm), the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and Skowhegan Savings Bank. Josh is an active member of the Construction Financial Managers Association (CFMA).

Joshua Broder serves as CEO of Tilson, which under his leadership, has grown from less than 10 employees to over 550, earning a top spot on the Inc. 5000 list for the past eleven years. He is also the founder of Tilson’s public utility affiliate, which develops, owns, and leases back 5G infrastructure including poles, towers, dark fiber and neutral host indoor and outdoor wireless networks nationwide. Josh cut his teeth in leadership as an Army Signal Officer on missions in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan designing, building and operating the communications network for US forces. Josh holds a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and is a graduate of AT&T’s Operation Hand Salute at JFK University with a certificate in entrepreneurial studies. Josh is currently serving a gubernatorial appointment as the co-chair of Maine’s economic recovery committee, is on the board of Versant Power, VETRO Fibermap, Kleinschmidt associates, and Skowhegan Savings Bank.

Drew Colbow serves as Vice President of Network Delivery and leads our Outside Plant, Site Development, and Network Services business units. Tilson’s Network Delivery teams design, build, and maintain network infrastructure for various nationwide network deployment initiatives. Drew joined Tilson in 2019 where he led Tilson’s Small Cell division establishing standardized business processes enabling record growth and profitability. He brings more than 20 years of multifaceted experience in the wireless infrastructure industry. His experience and leadership focus on national network deployment, program management, business operations, enterprise system management, and operational process implementation. Prior to joining Tilson, Drew spent 20 years at American Tower Corporation in various roles of increasing responsibility where he helped centralize and scale their national turnkey services unit. Drew holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wittenberg University, a Master of City Planning Degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Catherine Smith serves as General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Evoque Data Center Solutions™. Evoque Data Center Solutions, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, offers enterprises a full range of services, ranging from local, regional and global connectivity to secure space in highly available and redundant environments across four continents. Previously, Smith served as Executive Vice President of Brightstar Corp, the world’s leading provider of end-to-end solutions that better manage the world’s mobile device needs, brings over two decades of transformational leadership experience within the telecommunications and wireless industries and as Vice President and Lead Counsel for Motorola, Inc. and Motorola Mobility. For over a decade, she managed the largest portfolio of global strategic partners and distributors worldwide, including customer relationships, go-to-market strategies, financings, and global sales in more than 20 foreign markets.

In 2015, Smith was named in FierceWireless’ “Most Influential Women in Wireless” List and has been featured in Modern Counsel, Leaders Magazine and Profile Magazine. More recently, she received the 2018 National Association of Women in Law (NAWL) Diversity "Challenge" Award recognizing Brightstar’s adoption of hiring practices to increase representation of women to one-third of leadership positions. Smith is a graduate of Georgetown Law Center and holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Virginia.

As Vice President of the Outside Plant division, Rob leads Tilson’s growing OSP team nationally who design, build, and maintain NextGen 5G, FTTx, and Broadband infrastructure networks for clients across the industry in both the wireless and wireline space. Rob brings comprehensive leadership experience specializing in customer relationships, business operations, strategic planning, execution, and service delivery with a focus on driving growth in a highly competitive environment. He has over 29 years of experience in telecom deployment including building highly successful teams that incorporate safety, engineering, construction, installation & maintenance, project management, results execution, vendor management, and dispatch. As an industry leader with 29 years of experience Rob has built and scaled national OSP divisions with P&L responsibility. Prior to joining Tilson, Rob held roles of increasing responsibility at Verizon, Frontier Communications, and KGPCo.

As Director of Construction Technology Consulting, Tracy manages the Construction Technology Consulting division at Tilson and leads a team of over 40 construction technology and business process experts. Prior to joining Tilson, Tracy served as the top technology leader in a billion-dollar construction company, where she managed multimillion-dollar budgets, organized complex projects, and rebuilt the department and processes to scale with the company’s growth. Although her passion is technology strategy, during Tracy’s 16 years of construction industry experience she has also served in a variety of functions from real estate to fleet management to risk management. A CFMA member, member and former chair of the AGC Missouri Design and Construction Technology Conference Committee, and active St. Louis Viewpoint User Group Member, Tracy holds a B.A. and M.A. from Northland International University.

As Tilson's Chief Financial Officer, Shaun McCarthy leads Tilson’s finance team and stewards the company’s financial health as it continues to expand its network infrastructure design build services during a period of rapid expansion for clients across the country deploying 5G, fiber and other network technologies. Shaun has over 20 years of experience in senior financial positions including his most recent roles as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller at Casa Systems, a broadband infrastructure technology solutions provider. Previously he worked with Dynamics Research Corporation as Vice President of Finance, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. He has also held numerous roles at Axcelis Technologies, Inc., including as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller. Shaun received a B.S. in Finance and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Accounting from Bentley University.

Todd is the Founder and Managing Partner of SDC. He has spent his entire career building, operating and investing in IT and communications infrastructure businesses. Prior to forming SDC, Todd co-founded Sentinel Data Centers in 2001 and led the company as its co-CEO since its founding. During Todd’s leadership of Sentinel, the company emerged as one of the largest private data center platforms having developed over two million square feet of enterprise-class facilities. Sentinel’s clientele included numerous Fortune 500 enterprises ranging from “hyperscale” cloud providers to the largest global financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and health care providers. Sentinel twice built ground-up, multi-asset platforms that it ultimately sold to public data center REITs, first in 2010 via a $375 million portfolio sale to Digital Realty Trust and then in 2017 through a $490 million sale to CyrusOne. Todd began his career at investment bank Wasserstein Perella & Co. focused on technology and media investments for the firm’s affiliated private equity fund. Todd is a graduate of Dartmouth College. He is involved with multiple non-profits and has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards.

Kate Rush is Vice President of Corporate Development, leading Tilson’s M&A effort and innovation practice. Prior to joining Tilson, Kate was Senior Vice President at Bangor Savings Bank with responsibility for several areas during her tenure including technology, M&A, strategic planning, project management, customer experience and community relations. Additionally, Kate’s experience includes positions in global supply chain and commodity management in the aerospace industry and nearly a decade as an entrepreneur in the residential construction, real-estate development, and the renewable energy sector. She earned her undergraduate engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the University of Hartford. She has studied innovation at Stanford’s d.school and MIT. Kate currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Good Shephard Food Bank, Maine’s Working Community Challenge Steering Committee, and is a mentor to high school girls through the Olympia Snow Leadership Institute.

As Vice President of Engineering, Tony Wedell leads Tilson's growing engineering team who design and deploy 5G telecommunications infrastructure for clients across the country, including both wireless and wireline technologies. He is responsible for the development and implementation of short-term and long-term strategies for Tilson's engineering department to support the company's growth and world-class customer delivery service. Tony has over 27 years of experience leading high-growth teams across diverse markets, geographies, execution methods (E, EPC, EPCM, EPCMa), and project sizes, including his most recent role as Senior Vice President of Operations at Wood, a global engineering consulting, and construction firm, and previously as Director of Operations, Department Manager, Engineering and EPC Project Manager. Prior to Wood, Tony worked with Henning Metz Hartford, Inc. as a Mechanical Division Manager and as Project Engineer for Black and Veatch. Tony received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Project Management from Pennsylvania State University.

Jason Burns serves as Chief Information Officer of Tilson leading its information systems organization and system strategy. Jason has served in various executive technology leadership positions spanning more than two decades across numerous construction companies in the technology and cloud computing industries. He most recently served as Chief Information Officer of SphereNY and Vice President, Chief Information Officer of Hunter Roberts Construction Group, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of information technology, security, and process management, building high performance teams and leading transformative IT initiatives. Jason is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Management and Finance.

Currently CEO of The Governance Project and a Partner at Four Points Funding, Stephanie Copeland brings over 30 years of experience in the IT and telecommunications sector, holding a broad range of leadership positions domestically and internationally. She previously served as Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade under John Hickenlooper, former Governor of Colorado. Prior to her appointment in 2017, Ms. Copeland’s positions included President of The Zayo Group, a communications infrastructure services firm, and former COO at WildBlue, where she was responsible for the operations of the $500 million rural broadband business.

Ms. Copeland resides in Denver, Colorado and currently serves on several for profit and not for profit boards. In addition she served as a board member for the Colorado Broadband Deployment Board and the Colorado Workforce Development Council while on Governor Hickenlooper's cabinet. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois in German and Commercial studies and has completed post graduate courses at the University of Paderborn in Paderborn, Germany. Ms. Copeland is also an advisor to early stage companies across the region as a member of the Steering Committee for Blackstone Entrepreneur Network in Colorado.

Jay Ford is the Director of Telecom Consulting at Tilson. He is responsible for providing software development, consulting, and IT project leadership services to Government and select private industry clients. Jay started his career with Tilson 10 years ago as a member of the software development team and has held various consultant and management positions before taking on his current leadership role. Jay proudly serves as a member of the Advisory Committee for Organ and Tissue Donation in his home state of Maine and frequently volunteers with New England Donor Services.

Kristie Lokken serves as Associate Vice President of Site Deployment for Tilson leading a nationwide team of telecommunications professionals who are siting, designing, and building infrastructure for various nationwide network deployment initiatives. Kristie brings more than 25 years of telecommunications industry experience, with a wide range of wireless and wireline national programs including macro to small cell, in-building and microwave deployments programs. She has previously scaled and lead teams at Teligent, SAC, FMHC, Jacobs and Fullerton. Kristie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Illinois State University.

As Tilson’s Executive Vice President of Workforce, Adria leads Tilson’s global workforce strategy by deepening Tilson’s internal training and career pathing, and partnering with educational institutions, industry, and the military in building Tilson’s world class team of technical professionals. Prior to joining Tilson, Adria served as Director of Maine’s Bureau of Veterans Services for three years, where she led local and national veteran outreach and legislative initiatives. A graduate of West Point, she received her MBA from Northeastern University. After 11 years on Active Duty and multiple deployments, she worked on behalf of United States Senator Susan Collins in her Portland Field Office. Adria is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserve.

Paul Anderson was formerly chief executive at BHP Billiton and Duke Energy, where he also served as chairman of the board. Having previously been chief executive officer and managing director of BHP Limited and then BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc, he rejoined these latter two boards in 2006 as a non-executive director, retiring on 31 January 2010. He also served as a non-executive director on a number of boards in the US and Australia and as chief executive officer of Pan Energy Corp.

Paul Anderson became a board member of BP in early 2010, joining the President's Sustainability Committee (PSC). He was a member of the Gulf of Mexico committee from its formation in August 2010. He took the chair of the PSC in December 2012. As chair he has continued the committee’s focus on safety matters. His broad experience of the global oil and gas industry and of the US business environment has benefited the board, the SEEAC and the Gulf of Mexico committee. He has actively supported the work of the BP Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) academy. He has led the PSC on several visits to the company’s operations and has commenced a dialogue with the company’s socially responsible investors.

Drew Ludwick is the Director of Network Operations. As the technical and business leader of one of Tilson’s newest and fasted growing business units he oversees the operations of the Tilson Network Operations Center (NOC) as well as the network support teams coast to coast. The Tilson NOC is a highly versatile and capable 24x7 Network Operations Center with a national focus on operating and maintaining client networks using innovative tools, systems, and processes.

A self-motivated and goal-oriented IT professional over 24-years of experience designing, building, and maintaining networks of varying sizes and scopes. Prior to joining Tilson in February 2017, Drew served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army in network management roles of increasing responsibility and complexity, in places as diverse as Afghanistan to the Pacific Rim, from the White House to NATO.

Stephen Hand is the Director of IT at Tilson, leading a team focused on delivering comprehensive cybersecurity solutions to mid-market and enterprise clients on a national basis. Steve was introduced to the IT world back in the 80’s with Retail Inventory Control and Point of Sale solutions and worked with many large national and niche retailers before founding Know Technology in 1998. Know Technology grew to be a well-known Systems Integrator in New England, servicing primarily financial services, healthcare and retail organizations. As an early provider of Managed IT & Security Services, Steve and Know Technology were also a leading Microsoft partner, winning Microsoft’s Global Partner of the Year Award in 2009. Steve sold Know Technology in 2013 and most recently provided independent consulting services to help organizations think critically about their operational issues, with a focus on technology and security, often utilizing Microsoft Office 365 and Azure solutions. Steve has BS in Business Management & Marketing from the University of Maine and has served on the boards of many tech and business development organizations including MTI, MTUG, ConnectME and MESDA.

Alda Licis serves as Vice President of Tilson Infrastructure, providing customers with infrastructure that enables faster deployment and creative network solutions for wireless networks and IoT applications. Prior to joining Tilson, Alda was Principal/Owner of Front Range Infrastructure Consulting, LLC advising clients in the fiber and wireless industry. Previously, she worked for the Zayo Group holding several roles over her five-year tenure including managing the P&L for the data center business unit, developing Zayo’s first Small Cell Implementation team, managing large-scale fiber projects, and managing multiple Product teams responsible for strategic pricing of all dark fiber-based products (metro, long haul and FTT/Small Cell). Prior to Zayo, Alda managed the Chicago and Federal engineering offices for EYP Mission Critical Facilities, a data center design and consulting company which was acquired by Hewlett Packard. Alda began her career as a licensed Electrical Engineer designing power systems for commercial buildings.

Alda serves as the Chair of University of Colorado’s BOLD Advisory Council in the College of Engineering. She holds an Engineering degree from the University of Colorado and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Alexander is a partner at SDC. Alexander most recently served as Global Joint Head of the Media, Communications & Information Services investment banking group at Jefferies. Alexander spent 14 years as an investment banker at Jefferies focused on the telecom and technology sectors, with a particular focus on IT and communications infrastructure. He sourced and executed over $20 billion of M&A, debt and equity transactions globally within the last six years.

Prior to Jefferies, Alexander spent four years with Booz Allen Hamilton advising telecom and technology companies globally on strategic and operational issues, as well as conducting due diligence on behalf of Innovate@, a joint venture between Lehman Brothers and Booz Allen Hamilton. Prior to Booz Allen Hamilton, Alexander spent two years at Coopers & Lybrand Consulting where he designed, implemented and managed all aspects of various data centers and networks for U.S. federal government and military clients. Previously, Alexander held a Top Secret SSBI security clearance.

Alexander has an MBA from INSEAD, an MS in IT / Telecommunications from Johns Hopkins University and a BBA from James Madison University.

Chuck is a proven, high-energy safety professional who has achieved results in both industry and construction. He has over 24 years of experience in developing Health & Safety programs, conducting H&S training and providing overall commonsense direction to maximize H&S efforts. Implementation of behavior-based safety programs and establishing best practice, post-incident intervention programs are areas of significant achievement. Chuck was formerly the Director of Safety and Health at Abscope Environmental, Corporate Safety manager at BBL and ArcadisBBL. His ability to mesh safety into operations with always an eye on improving efficiency is a significant asset in our business. Chuck served multiple tours in the Army as an artilleryman, ROTC instructor and Civil Affairs officer, departing the U.S. Army Reserve in 2011. Chuck received his Bachelors of Arts Degree from the University of Colorado and his Masters of Science in Safety from the University of Southern California.

Michael Smith serves as Director of Outside Plant for Tilson’s self-perform division. With over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Michael brings his extensive OSP construction and operational leadership to Tilson in support of developing and growing this new business segment nationally. Michael’s successful entrepreneur background, on both the broadband carrier and contractor side of the industry, provides a uniquely competitive advantage for the implementation of scalable structure and highly skilled technical guidance for Tilson’s self-perform operations in OSP deployments. Michael’s industry tenure includes senior level operational experience and proficiency in aerial & underground OSP construction, Horizontal Direction Drilling, FTTx design and deployment, broadband system architecture, MDU structured wiring networks, and P&L responsibility.

Gary retuned to Hussey Seating in November 2008 as Vice President of Finance / CFO, after holding the same position at The Emery-Waterhouse Company since 2004. Prior to that he had worked at Hussey Seating in a variety of positions in Finance, Operations, and International Sourcing. He began his career working for the international accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand, now PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Gary graduated from the University of Maine Orono in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and received his masters in business administration, with a concentration in finance, from Babson College in 1981. He also received his CPA in 1981. Gary currently servers on Board of Directors of the American Red Cross of Southern Maine. He was also past Board Chair and Board member of Junior Achievement, a program that teaches students about entrepreneurship and financial literacy. He and his wife Tina live in Portland and have two adult children.

Tim Schneider is General Counsel and Principal Consultant for Tilson. As General Counsel, Tim oversees and provides guidance to the management team on all legal matters related to Tilson’s activities including contracting, licensing, and regulation. As a Principal Consultant, Tim supports Tilson customers with expert consulting and advisory services in the areas of telecommunications and energy policy. Prior to joining Tilson, Tim led the Maine Office of the Public Advocate, the independent state agency that represents Maine utility customers. As Public Advocate, Tim served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Utility Consumer Advocates, and played a central role in setting Maine’s energy and telecommunications policy, with particular focus on ensuring that electricity bills were affordable for low income electricity customers, expanding access to broadband, and developing forward-looking distributed generation policy. He is a graduate of Harvard University and New York University School of Law.

Corey Manus serves as the Director of Wireless Construction for Tilson and leads a team supporting Tower and Small Cell installation services for the largest Communications customer base in North America. For 24 years Corey has managed teams across the United States as they have planned and built telecommunications sites. Prior to Tilson, he spent ten years of his career in various roles of increasing responsibility with American Tower Corporation, where he most recently held the title of Regional Manager of Construction for the Western US. His managed Construction portfolio included more than 6000 Communications Towers, where his team oversaw the construction of new towers, co-locations, fiber/ microwave backhaul, and backup generator power. Under Corey’s leadership, his teams have been recognized as the top vendor in multiple markets for both Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, all while producing increased profitability year-over-year and pushing technological innovation that drives efficiency with the workforce. Corey attended the University of Georgia and sits on the NATE Small Cell and DAS Committee. He has also participated in the development of the Small Cell Safety Curriculum for the OSHA- Susan Harwood Grant.

Sheryl Tullis is a Partner at Direct Technology, a veteran-owned software and services company, and Head of Strategic Communications for TA Group Holdings, a private equity firm where she serves as a strategic advisor and shared services leader across the TA Group portfolio of companies. Ms. Tullis brings over 30 years of experience in the mobile and technology sectors across a broad range of leadership positions including Senior Vice President for Mobile and Technology at Iconmobile, Vice President of Client Services at Essence Mobile, Chief of Staff at Microsoft, and New Ventures Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble. Commissioned from West Point as an Army Signal Corps officer, she served as Deputy Director of Information Management, leading a multinational unit that provided mission-critical telecommunications services across EMEA.

Ms. Tullis resides in Redmond, Washington where she founded several mobile industry organizations and serves as an advisor to early stage companies and non-profits. As the Global President Emeritus of mBolden, an organization to advance women in mobile and digital, she was selected for the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 Mobile Growth Summit. An advocate for veteran hiring, Ms. Tullis co-created the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy to help military members transition to high tech, high trajectory roles. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Currently the CEO of FinTech āxil, Nerissa Naidu brings over two decades of executive leadership experience driving corporate growth and revenue generation strategies for organizations across 70 countries. Prior to āxil, Ms. Naidu has filled numerous senior executive roles managing and growing global businesses including Accenture and AIG, providing board oversight, managing a 5000+ global workforce, and leading multinational strategy for fortune 100 companies. She has been a proponent of equality and strives to break the mold of stereotypes in gender, race, and professional norms. Ms. Naidu has been a keynote speaker on diversity and inclusion, and chaired discussions on systemic inequality and racial injustice. She was selected as a Young Global Leader in the World Economic Forum in 2019 and was recently featured in the Financial Times as a leader to watch.

Joshua Broder

Shaun McCarthy

Jason Burns

Adria Horn

Alda Licis

Tim Schneider

Joshua Broder

Catherine Smith

Todd Aaron

Stephanie Copeland

Paul Anderson

Alexander Kelloff

Gary Merrill

Sheryl Tullis

Nerissa Naidu

Kate Rush

Andrew Colbow

Rob Hughart

Tony Wedell

Kristie Lokken

Drew Ludwick

Michael Smith

Corey Manus

Tracy Bell

Jay Ford

Stephen Hand

Charles Webster