Recruiting a new class of exceptional managers

Even as economies are battered by COVID-19, digital infrastructures are booming, offering a critical lifeline for an anxious world on lockdown. The telco investment landscape is thriving – yet it has not yet reached its full potential. What will it take for telco investment to match the industry’s prospects?

Part of the challenge is that there is a talent gap to be bridged. Businesses in the sector need to recruit a new class of executive, with a skillset encompassing tech know-how, entrepreneurial verve, training in dealing with public bodies, and the capacity to navigate a complex regulatory environment. Such individuals are rare, and the field competitive. Indeed, industry goals may be best achieved by putting together crack teams of managers that encompass the complementary talents and levels of experience needed to tackle new realities. With challenges come opportunities, and the rewards of finding the right mix of leaders promise to be immense.

To shed more light on this dynamic moment, Boston Consulting Group and Egon Zehnder have interviewed top managers, infrastructure investors, telco incumbents, and players in the emergent asset class of pure digital-infrastructure companies.