Ana Rua,
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Government affairs lead for New York City and New York state, Crown Castle
Ana Rua’s career is all about building connections. As the government affairs lead for New York City and the state at Crown Castle, the nation’s largest shared wireless infrastructure provider, she is at the center of building what she calls “a neural network of relationships” among local political, economic and social forces.
Rua drives policies designed to ensure the scalability of communication technology.
“We’re the reason your cellphone works in 48 states and Puerto Rico,” she said with a laugh. “And I lead a coalition of 20-plus companies covering New York state, where collectively we brainstorm on how to drive connectivity.”
Those who work with Rua testify to her ability to bring people together and deliver results.
“Ana is the quintessential iron fist in a velvet glove,” said Liz Benjamin, an outside consultant for Crown Castle at Marathon Strategies. “She is determined and does not take ‘no’ for an answer but also recognizes the importance and strength of a charm offensive.”
Rua used her talents during Albany’s last legislative session. She negotiated with Senate and Assembly leadership to overturn a fee that had hindered the deployment of fiber-optic cable to rural parts of the state.
“There can never be enough connectivity to meet the demand of what we’re going to do in society and our online needs,” she said. “Banking, cryptocurrency, smart cities, health care and manufacturing [connectivity] touch every human interaction.”