About Whitey Bluestein

Whitey Bluestein is a strategic advisor and dealmaker with more than 40 years in telecommunications. Through Bluestein & Associates LLC, he advises CEOs and boards at early-stage and growth companies on carrier relationships, transactions and partnerships in mobile, IoT, eSIM, connected devices, connected cars and AI. For the last 25 years he has advised companies large and small in wireless, telecoms, entertainment and energy, across the U.S., Europe, the UK, Asia and Canada.

Career

Before returning to full-time advisory work, Whitey was Executive Vice President for Corporate and Business Development at Visage Mobile, a San Francisco firm providing outsourced private-label wireless services to national brands. There he worked closely with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN on their MVNO initiatives, and Disney's Corporate Strategy group later hired him as an industry advisor on global mobile opportunities.

As Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at NorthPoint Communications, he negotiated strategic distribution deals and secured $94 million in investments from Microsoft, RadioShack, Global Crossing, Cable & Wireless and XO. He then led partner vetting and negotiated and managed two international joint ventures: a Pan-European broadband partnership with Versatel (NL) and a Canadian venture with Sprint-Canada.

At MCI Communications, he was Senior Vice President of Wireless Strategy and Development from 1995 to 1997, creating MCI's wireless virtual network strategy, including the first Mobile Virtual Network Operator and negotiating wireless service agreements with leading U.S. operators. From 1994 to 1996, he was General Manager of the BT/Concert Alliance, managing MCI's relationship with British Telecom and the Concert joint venture, reporting to MCI's CEO.

Before rejoining MCI in 1994, he was Vice President of Strategic Business Development and Market Expansion at CENTEX Telemanagement, which Inc. Magazine recognized as the fastest-growing service company in the U.S. Growth drivers included the industry's first number portability and first co-locations with several landline operators.

From 1982 to 1988 he held roles in corporate development, carrier relations and business marketing at MCI in Washington, DC, and San Francisco. His instrumental role in the 1984 cellular market consolidation is detailed in Wireless Nation: The Frenzied Launch of the Cellular Revolution in America by James B. Murray.

He began his career in law and federal energy policy. At the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Renewable Fuels, he authored a Presidential Executive Order mandating alternative fuels in federal vehicles.

Media and speaking

Whitey has appeared on CNBC's Fast Money, FM Halftime Report and SquawkBox, on CNN, and on Bloomberg Television. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and The Christian Science Monitor. His work has been featured in Entrepreneur, Fierce and Light Reading, and his articles have appeared in Telecoms.com and Public Utilities Fortnightly. He has served as an expert witness in numerous industry cases.

He speaks at wireless conferences including the Informa MVNOs World Congress and North American industry summits. AlwaysOn named him a 2013 Mobile Power Player, and he was the only American judge for the International MVNO Innovation Awards from 2013 to 2019.

Education and service

Whitey holds a B.S. in Business (Marketing and Economics) from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and a Juris Doctor with Honors from George Washington University Law School. He completed the NARUC Advanced Regulatory Studies Program at Michigan State University's Institute of Public Utilities.

He is Vice Chair of the Earth Leadership Council at Friends of the Earth, where he previously served on the Board and Executive Committee. He was also President of Bluewater Network and judged the Sustainability category of the 2014 Verizon Powerful Answers Award.

Beyond business

Whitey is a photographer, a guitarist and a rider of European trains. His photography has drawn more than 3.6 million views on Flickr. He lives with his wife in Sonoma County, California.