“Be first, be fast” is the rally cry from Francis Létourneau, the new President and CEO of NuRAN Wireless, who is leading the restructuring of the Canadian-based supplier of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions.
Since taking up his position last year, dynamic leader Létourneau, is wasting no time to help bridge the digital divide for rural communities in Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo to Cameroon and highlighted how NuRAN is focusing on being a network-as-a-service (NAAS) from originally being an equipment manufacturer.
Speaking from the head office in Quebec, Canada, Létourneau spoke about stepping up to lead the company at the height of the pandemic and at time when NuRAN was restructuring itself following a file for bankruptcy for its wholly-owned subsidiary and operating company Nutaq Innovation Inc.
“The demand is here today, you can't wait for the others to pave the way, you have to just do it,”said Létourneau who is forging ahead and revealed plans to work on 2,000 sites in Cameroon and DRC which will be ready in 40 months.
Létourneau spent 16 years with the company, a leading supplier of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions before he was made CEO last year. He is now forging ahead with his vision for the future which includes plans to work on 2,000 sites in Cameroon and DRC which will be ready in 40 months.
“Be first, be fast,” said Létourneau who was the only executive left standing following the challenges last year. “I joined NuRAN when it was doing electronic engineering, over the years it has undergone a shift in business especially during the last couple of years,” said Letourneau who studied for a degree in accounting which rapidly turned into marketing and sales and he has now been in the telecom industry 27 years.
“I started off working in internet sales for Yellow Pages in Canada. Prior to joining NuRAN, I worked for TELUS. The reason I moved from accountancy to the telecommunication industry is because this space has so much evolution. Year after year, there's always something new to learn and something new that will change, or modify our lives for the better.”
Tech-loving Létourneau, who describes himself as a “creative, proactive and high energy personality who is an excellent team player and coach” says he admires anyone who can do something I can’t do.
“I liked watching leadership videos from Simon Sineck who talks about believers -I'm a strong believer. If I grab onto something I want to see it happen. When I made the shift in my career to come with this position I went through a lot of business reorientation - now we're exactly where we want it to be. All the people around me made me believe it was possible and I made the right decision.”
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