TowerXchange: Please introduce yourself, your background and your role.
Blair Crawford, Director of National Accounts, Vertical Bridge: I was born and raised in Northern California and attended the University of San Diego. Throughout my studies, I was convinced I’d pursue a career in law, but in 2003, I graduated and had the opportunity to work for Kineticom, a human capital firm focused on the wireless sector.
I found myself working alongside wireless industry professionals, and I immediately loved the sector. At the beginning, I was still convinced I’d eventually move into law, but I then realised I had become very passionate about the wireless industry.
The more time I spent working on it, the more I was able to understand the business. This process helped me figure out how I wanted to proceed in my career.
TowerXchange: Tell us about some of the lessons you’ve learned throughout your professional experiences and the transition towards Vertical Bridge.
Blair Crawford, Director of National Accounts, Vertical Bridge: While working at Kineticom, I was one of the only females within the company. I was often travelling to meet clients and couldn’t help but notice that there weren’t many women working in wireless. I took it as an opportunity to stand out and set high targets for myself.
However, I was also very lucky to have a CEO and mentor who allowed me to sit at the table when I didn’t necessarily have the experience. That was possibly the greatest lesson ’ that if you have the right people surrounding you and believing in you, it doesn’t matter where you come from and what your background actually is. I attribute a lot of my success to the people I’ve met throughout my career who gave me a chance at the right time.
In my current role, I came to fully appreciate the importance of having the right people in my team. I had always admired Alex Gellman, Mike Belski, Bernard Borghei and Marc Ganzi and I wanted to be part of their team. I had a deep understanding of the wireless space but I had not worked in the infrastructure sector they gave me a chance anyway. They believed in me and I am very lucky to be where I am today.
Working on the human capital side also taught me that failure is a necessary aspect of our professional path. You have to be ready to fail and prepare for the many inevitable changes that might take place during a career. You also have to be able to separate your emotional and professional sides in order to try and help people during critical times, especially in a role where you work based on commission.
As I transitioned to Vertical Bridge, I realised that in my success wasn’t defined only by the revenue I was generating for the company but also ’ and foremost ’ by my hard work, commitment and the long-term relationships I was able to create with clients and partners.
TowerXchange: And looking ahead, what is your greatest professional ambition?’
Blair Crawford, Director of National Accounts, Vertical Bridge: In terms of future ambitions, I am excited to continue to expand Vertical Bridge’s footprint across the United States. We are the largest private towerco in the country, and I hope to continue to contribute to our growth in the future.
On a more personal side, I would love to leave a legacy of mentorship and be able to give back after the many years of great support and mentorship I received.
TowerXchange: What has been the greatest achievement in your career so far?’
Blair Crawford, Director of National Accounts, Vertical Bridge: One of my greatest achievements was the expansion of Kineticom into the Canadian market. It was uncharted territory recruiting top talent in Canada, as well as working through the visa process. The goal was two parts: 1) support Canadian telcos with technical talent and 2) bring talent back to the US. We were successful in opening two offices, becoming a trusted staffing partner to the Canadian carriers and staffing many US carriers with talent from Canada during the deployment of 3G. It was extremely rewarding to succeed in something that the company had not done before as well as to find solutions for our US customers when the talent didn’t exist at the time in the States.
At Vertical Bridge our corporate culture is fast, friendly and flexible. I am most proud of being able to carry that over to the relationships I’ve created with my clients. Our customers are our partners and we have a very proactive attitude that enables us to swiftly put into practice what we promise. We listen to our customers and really try to address their pain points.
TowerXchange: What would be your top message to young female professionals looking at a career in digital infrastructure?’
Blair Crawford, Director of National Accounts, Vertical Bridge: Pursue it because it is a great industry to be part of and it is made of outstanding professionals and we get to work in a very exciting environment.
Our community is highly supportive and there are so many organisations across the country looking to hire women. In addition, there are plenty of support groups, sessions and educational classes aimed at enabling women to succeed in a rather male-dominated environment.
Our industry is extremely exciting and fast-paced. We get to experience new things every day and directly witness the many innovations in technology. I truly think this is a great industry to be part of.
