Executive team

Kash Pandya

Chief Executive Officer

Joined 2015

Kash arrived as Chief Executive Officer of Helios Towers following eight years with Aggreko plc, where he sat on the Board, running the European Business for three years. He was also Managing Director of Aggreko International for five years, overseeing a doubling of their international business.

He began his career with an engineering apprenticeship, and went on to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Technology Engineering and a Master’s in Manufacturing.

In 1989, he started at Jaguar before moving to roles within General Electric, Caradon and then APW, where he led all operations outside the United States.

In 2004, he became the CEO of Johnston Group, leaving the business on its sale to Ennstone plc.

Tom Greenwood

Chief Financial Officer

Joined 2010 

Tom was appointed Chief Financial Officer in September 2015, having previously been Helios Towers’ Group Finance Director. He has been instrumental in managing and raising debt and equity for the Group, as well as being a key member of the team for all acquisitions and country set-ups.

He is responsible for all finance and IT activities across the Group, and has led the set-up of all financial systems, operations and shared service centre.

He joined Helios Towers from PwC, where he was part of the TMT Transaction Services team, focusing on M&A and refinancings, mainly in the telecoms sector.

Tom is a Chartered Accountant of the ICAEW (ACA).

Alex Leigh

Chief Commercial Officer

Joined 2012

Alex was appointed to the executive team of Helios Towers in October 2015, and is responsible for commercial, business development and sales activity.

Prior to joining the executive team, he served as Business Development Director covering M&A, equity raises and business development. Alex has negotiated many of HT’s major customer agreements and has been a key team member in the capital raising activities of the Group.

Before joining Helios Towers, Alex worked at both UBS and Rothschild, primarily advising TMT companies in an M&A capacity. He has been involved in over 20 M&A transactions and eight leveraged finance deals, and has provided strategic advice to large TMT companies across Europe

Philippe Loridon

CEO Helios Towers Tanzania

Joined 2010

Philippe Loridon has been CEO of Helios Towers Tanzania (“HTT”) since January 2015 and joined HTT from Helios Towers DRC, where he had been Chief Executive Officer since December 2011. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer at Equateur Telecom Congo, where he re-launched ETC in the Republic of Congo. Prior to this, Philippe accumulated 20 years’ experience in the telecoms industry with MNOs based in San Marino, Israel and Papua New Guinea. This included 13 years at Hutchison Whampoa, fulfilling senior roles in sales, marketing and business development before first becoming CEO of Hutchison Sri Lanka in 1998, and then Head of Hutchison Telecommunications’ Latin American operations between 2000 and 2002.

Jeffrey Schumacher

CEO Helios Towers Ghana, Congo Brazzaville & South Africa

Joined 2011

Jeffrey has been CEO of Helios Towers Ghana and Helios Towers Congo Brazzaville since 2015 and 2016, respectively. He was also appointed CEO of Helios Towers South Africa in 2019.

He has held various senior positions during the set-up, launch and growth phases at subsidiaries in Tanzania, DRC and Chad, where he was Managing Director. Prior to Helios Towers, Jeffrey was an investment professional at Soros Fund Management LLC, where he had been actively involved with the Company since its formation in 2009.

He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering (magna cum laude) from Northwestern University in the United States.

Leon-Paul Manya Okitanyenda

CEO Helios Towers DRC

Joined 2011

Léon-Paul has been Chief Executive Officer of Helios Towers DRC since January 2015, having previously been Network Operations Director since February 2011.

He has over 15 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining the Company, Léon-Paul worked as a Contract Execution Manager at Ericsson; Country Field Manager for MER Telecom; Operations Manager for Venture; and as Logistics Manager at Plessey. He is from DRC and holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Mathematics.

Colin Gaston

Director of Special Projects

Joined 2015

Colin has been a Director in Helios Towers since joining in 2015.

Previously, he held several senior positions at Aggreko from 2000 to 2013, including Operations Director for the International Business, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, and Head of Logistics. He then worked as an independent consultant in Dubai for two years before joining Helios Towers.

Colin also has 20 years of international experience in senior management roles with Schlumberger, and is an accredited Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Roy Cursley

Director of Delivery and Technology

Joined 2015

Roy has been at Director of Delivery and Technology at Helios Towers since February 2019 and has been a member of the Executive Management team since 2015.

Prior to Helios Towers, Roy was Head of Projects, Planning & Continuous Improvement at Aggreko International. He was responsible for the execution of temporary power projects internationally, primarily in emerging markets.

He has a wealth of experience in both South Africa and the East Africa region, and is an accredited Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Nick Summers

Director of Sustainability and Organisational Development

Joined 2010

Nick has been Director of Sustainability and Organisational Development at Helios Towers since January 2019 and has been a member of the executive management team since 2015. He joined Helios Towers in 2010 following nine years with Vodafone, both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

His final role at Vodafone was National Head of RAN Deployment for Vodafone Ghana (previously the state-owned Ghana Telecom).

At Helios Towers, Nick has oversight of the implementation of the Group’s sustainability strategy and is responsible for Group human resources; Group health; safety, environmental and quality management; and Group ethics and compliance. Nick has been Director of Sustainability and Organisational Development at Helios Towers since January 2019 and has been a member of the executive management team since 2015. He joined Helios Towers in 2010 following nine years with Vodafone, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. His final role at Vodafone was National Head of RAN Deployment for Vodafone Ghana (previously the state-owned Ghana Telecom). At Helios Towers, Nick has oversight of the implementation of the Group’s sustainability strategy and is responsible for Group human resources; Group health; safety, environmental and quality management; and Group ethics and compliance. 

Helen Ebert

Chief Legal Officer

Joined 2018

Helen brings a wealth of experience to the role of Chief Legal Officer at Helios Towers. She was previously General Counsel at Exterion Media (formerly CBS outdoor) and held senior roles at World Fuel Services, and the Vista Group.

She also has extensive experience of working for international law firms in London and Singapore, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May, and Linklaters.

Helen has significant international M&A, general commercial and compliance experience in EMEA, AsiaPacific, USA, Russia and Egypt.

She is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and has a law degree from Cambridge University.