Senior leadership team

Transit Wireless › About us › Senior leadership team

Executive team

Melinda White

Chief Executive Officer

Melinda White

Chief Executive Officer

Melinda White is CEO of Transit Wireless – industry leading designers, builders, and operators of 5G communications infrastructure to connect people, improve communities and advance economies. She has more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in the wireless and telecommunications industry, including 5G, Smart Networks, public-private partnerships, and network edge strategy.

At Transit Wireless, Melinda is a hands-on CEO, driving revenue from Transit Wireless’s fiber network, and providing industry leading “Smart Transit” and 5G neutral host services to mobile network operators and transit authorities around the country.

Previously, Melinda served as CEO of Black Walnut Ventures; President, West Region, of Frontier Communications; and held senior leadership roles at Wink Communications, Cox Communications and Cellular One.

Melinda is an evangelist for the power of Public-Private Partnerships to connect the unconnected and transform cities around the nation into “Connected Communities.” She currently serves on the boards of Resonance A.I. and the California Emerging Technology Fund. She earned an M.B.A. from Tulane University and a B.B.A. from Texas’ Howard Payne University. She serves on Harvard Kennedy School’s Women’s Leadership Board.

Jeff Garte

Chief Financial Officer

Jeff Garte

Chief Financial Officer

Jeff Garte serves as the CFO of Transit Wireless, responsible for all aspects of finance and IT.

Jeff joined Transit Wireless with over twenty years of financial and operational experience in public and private companies with domestic and international operations. He brings a focus on connecting operational actions with financial results to drive strategic outcomes.

Prior to joining Transit Wireless, Jeff was CFO of Globecomm. He has also held various senior financial roles at Hibernia Networks, AboveNet Communications and CSC ServiceWorks. He began his career in the investment banking divisions at Evercore and UBS.

Jeff holds an undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Jyoti Mahurkar-Thombre

Chief Technology Officer

Jyoti Mahurkar-Thombre

Chief Technology Officer

Jyoti Mahurkar-Thombre serves as Chief Technology Officer of Transit Wireless, responsible for technology strategy, including engineering, network operations, R&D, and product development.

Jyoti comes to Transit Wireless with more than 30 years of global technology experience. She was previously CTO of Landis+Gyr, a recognized leader in smart metering technologies. Prior to that, she served in roles of increasing responsibility at Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia, including as President of APAC Global Customer Delivery and Vice President of Wireless R&D.

Jyoti’s areas of expertise are in telecommunications, wireless networks, R&D, and services. She has worked across the globe and completed assignments in New Zealand, Shanghai, Switzerland and the United States.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Illinois and holds master’s degrees in computer science and engineering management from Northwestern University.

Julia Hanft

General Counsel

Julia Hanft

General Counsel

Julia serves as General Counsel for Transit Wireless, bringing over 30 years of experience leading legal, compliance and regulatory teams.

Most recently, Julia was the founding partner of Law Offices of Julia Hanft, a private law firm providing business legal solutions for small and medium enterprise companies. Prior to founding her private practice, Julia served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for Globecomm Systems Inc., a leading provider of complex communications solutions for commercial and government customers throughout the world. There, she was responsible for the company’s contracts and legal matters, procurement, quality, trade compliance, and information security across all subsidiaries, both domestic and international.

Her previous experience includes as a contracts manager for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, where she managed the contract activities for multi-billion-dollar contracts and proposals with government agencies in Italy, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Julia holds a J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law (magna cum laude) and a B.S. in Business and Management from University of Redlands (with Distinction), and is admitted to practice law in both New York and Georgia.

Louise Butler

Senior Vice President of People and Business Operations

Louise Butler

Senior Vice President of People and Business Operations

Louise serves as Senior Vice President of People and Business Operations for Transit Wireless. She oversees 5G strategy, as well as all aspects of human resources including, talent management and acquisition, rewards, Strategic Workforce Solutions, Diversity and Inclusion, engagement and HR operations.

Prior to joining the company, Louise led Organizational Design, Change Management and Transformation globally for Pearson Education in London and New York. At Pearson, she also served as the head of HR for Global Business Services and Corporate Finance. Previously, Louise ran her own global consulting business with clients across various sectors around the world. She also led HR for Arqiva, supporting the end-to-end organization and building an Internet of Things (IoT) business from scratch, helping to develop its go-to-market strategy.

Louise started her career at RBS as a private banker, where she worked for over 15 years in M&A and global transformation in both London and New York. She has a degree in business from the University of Hull.

Kristin Steiner

Head of Strategic Partnerships and Sales

Kristin Steiner

Head of Strategic Partnerships and Sales

Kristin Steiner serves as Head of Strategic Partnerships and Sales for Transit Wireless, responsible for the company’s business development and growth. Her portfolio includes partnerships with transit agencies and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), 5G, Dark Fiber, Offload, and Sales Support. She drives the sales strategy to facilitate the company’s growing 5G infrastructure buildouts and expand its public-private partnerships (P3s) across transit and large commercial venues nationwide.

Ms. Steiner comes to Transit Wireless with more than 20 years of wireless sales leadership experience delivering growth and revenue. She was previously Vice President of Business Development for Boingo. Prior to that, she served in executive roles at Crown Castle and Mobilitie. She began her career in Financial Planning and Analysis in the commercial real estate space.

A 5G and P3 industry leader, Ms. Steiner is a trusted partner who puts the customer at the center. Her experience includes successful partnerships with MNOs, leading global brands, the country’s largest transit agencies, and major venues, including stadiums and universities.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and an MBA from the University of Redlands.

Transit Wireless Members Committee

The Transit Wireless Members Committee is responsible for the strategic direction and operations of the Transit Wireless business. Transit Wireless is a majority-owned BAI Communications company.

Igor Leprince

Chairman

Igor Leprince

Chairman

Igor Leprince joined BAI Communications as Group CEO and Chairman of Transit Wireless in May 2020. Igor’s knowledge and experience includes business growth, large-scale turnaround and transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and integration, as well as entering new and diverse environments for listed, entrepreneurial and mid-size companies.

Until joining BAI Communications, Igor was the Chairman of WM5G and AWTG and a senior advisor for Bain & Company. He is also an angel investor in several technology companies. Igor worked for Nokia between 2007 and 2019. His last role was President – Global Services where he was a was a member of the Nokia Group Executive Board.

Prior to Nokia, Igor was the Managing Director EMEA for WFI (sold to LCC/Tech Mahindra). He has also held various management roles for telecom operators Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Western Wireless in the UK, France, Ireland, Switzerland and Bolivia.

He holds a Master’s degree in Telecommunications from E.N.S.T. Paris and a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Systems and Networks from University Paris 7.

Igor is married and has four children. In his spare time, Igor is enthusiastic about sports including tennis, wakeboarding and has a passion for champagne and wine in which he also invests. He is French and lives in the UK.

Gary Simpson

Member

Gary Simpson

Member

Gary co-founded Transit Wireless in 2005. Gary is also the co-founder of Windmill Capital, where he serves as Chief Operating Officer. He has more than 30 years’ experience as an entrepreneur, investor and executive in real estate, construction, venture capital and hedge funds. He has managed construction work worth in excess of a billion dollars, focused primarily in transit and transportation related infrastructure and power generation, including many large-scale projects for the MTA.

Gary has a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Vermont and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Council on the Environment of New York City, the Center Against Domestic Violence and the Metro New York Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He serves on the finance committee of the UVM Foundation and on the Board of Advisors at the UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Chris Downie

Member

Chris Downie

Member

Chris is Flexential’s Chief Executive Officer and has deep expertise in leading the economics, delivery and operations of data centers and hybrid cloud businesses. Chris joined Flexential in 2016 with responsibility for setting and managing the strategic priorities that drive its profitable growth.

Prior to Flexential, Chris was the Chief Executive Officer of Telx Holdings, a leading interconnection and data center solutions provider based in New York City. Chris also has more than 25 years’ combined executive leadership experience in finance and operations, working for Daniels & Associates, BroadStreet Communications and Motient Corporation.

Chris holds a B.A. degree in History from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in International Business from New York University.

Joan Gillman

Member

Joan Gillman

Member

Joan currently serves as an independent director of InterDigital, Inc., Cumulus Media, Inc. and Airgain Inc., and as a non-executive director of Centrica PLC. She is also interim chair of BAI Communications.

From 2006-2016, Joan served as Executive Vice President of Time Warner Cable and Chief Operating Officer of Time Warner Cable Media. She was responsible for running a $1 billion operating system with more than 1,500 employees delivering cutting edge data, analytics and advanced advertising products supporting 30,000 clients across 100 cable networks, 14 local news channels and several regional sports networks.

Joan also led a global operating division with application development, sales, business development and finance teams in London, Paris and Mountainview as the president of a subsidiary of Open TV, Inc. until it was acquired by Liberty Media Corporation. Her global experience developed during her time as head of Business Development for British Interactive Broadcasting. Early in her career, Joan worked in the Office of Senator Chris Dodd, before achieving her first executive role in 1995 at Physicians Online.

She has a B.A. from College of the Holy Cross and an M.A. from George Washington University. Joan has also studied in the Executive Education program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Jay Walder

Member

Jay Walder

Member

Jay is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Virgin Hyperloop One, the US-based transportation technology company commercializing the high-speed technology concept called Hyperloop. Previously, Jay spent four years as Chief Executive Officer of Motivate (2014-1018), the global leader in bike sharing, before its sale to Lyft.

Jay has led the biggest and most complex transportation systems in the world, previously serving as CEO of the MTR Corporation in Hong Kong (2012-2014), Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York (2009-2011), and Managing Director of Transport for London (2001-2007). Jay was also a Partner at McKinsey, where he led the Global Infrastructure Practice for the well-known consulting firm (2007-2009), and a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School (1995-2001).

Currently, Jay is on the Board of Advisors of the Taubman Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and is an Advisor to Lyft. Previously, he was on the Executive Board of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), the Executive Committee of the American Public Transport Association (APTA), and the Visiting Committee of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT.

Jay has a BS in Economics from Harpur College at Binghamton University and holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Stephen Matthews

Member

Stephen Matthews

Member

Stephen Matthews joined BAI Communications as Group Chief Financial Officer in 2014, joining BAI from NBN Co. Limited.

Prior to joining BAI, Stephen’s role as Deputy Chief Financial Officer at NBN Co. Limited had responsibility for financial control, commercial finance, finance systems and capitalisation, planning and reporting, and tax. Prior to working at NBN, Stephen spent nearly seven years with Carlton & United Breweries as Group Finance Director, Finance Director Australia, Asia and Pacific, Finance Director CUB, then Chief Financial Officer. Stephen also spent seven years with multinational alcoholic beverage producer, Diageo, in the Australia Pacific roles of Finance Director and Commercial Strategy Director.

Stephen is currently Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, BAI Communications.