By Katherine Hamilton

Crown Castle fired its chief executive after agreeing to sell parts of its business to focus on its core towers segment.

The telecommunications company said Monday it terminated Chief Executive Steven Moskowitz.

It named Chief Financial Officer Dan Schlanger as interim chief executive and initiated a search for a permanent successor.

Board Chair P. Robert Bartolo said "now is the right time to make this leadership transition" to complete its $8.5 billion sale of its fiber and small-cells business segments, which was announced earlier in March. That deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Moskowitz's termination wasn't the result of a disagreement about the company's policies or financial performance, and was not related to any ethical concern, Crown Castle said.

"We are confident that installing new CEO leadership will put the Company on the best path forward to maximize long-term shareholder value," Bartolo said.

Schlanger will continue to serve as CFO until April 1, and then Sunit Patel will assume that role. After the company finds a new CEO, it plans to make Schlanger chief transformation officer. In that role, he will be responsible for overseeing the sales of the fiber and small-cell businesses.

Crown Castle said earlier it plans to use the cash proceeds to repay existing debt and fund anticipated share repurchases. It began a strategic review of the fiber business at the end of 2023.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2025 16:58 ET (20:58 GMT)

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