23 Apr. Association strengthens Executive Board in a year of key policy decisions
Cologne, 23. April 2026. VATM is entering the upcoming political and regulatory debates with a strong Executive Board.
At its General Assembly, VATM elected four new members to the Executive Board:
• Reinhard Sauer, CEO of Deutschen GigaNetz GmbH,
• Peter Zils, Chairman of the Board of ecotel communication ag,
• Badiaa Bazarbacha, Deputy Managing Director Germany der Vantage Towers AG,
• Carsten Lagemann, Managing Director of Westconnect GmbH.
With their proven expertise in mobile infrastructure, fibre rollout, network operations and the business customer market, the Association is strengthening its leadership team at a time when key decisions shaping the future of the telecommunications market are approaching.
“The VATM Executive Board reflects the strength of an association that represents the full breadth of the telecommunications market,” said VATM President Valentina Daiber. “This is precisely why we are one of the key points of contact for policymakers and regulators when it comes to shaping the migration from copper to fibre networks for both network operators and customers, accelerating mobile network expansion, fostering a competitive business customer market and enabling future-ready services. Competition remains the cornerstone of the telecommunications market — and that is what makes VATM and its Executive Board so important.”
Photo: VATM. From left to right: Reinhard Sauer, Carsten Lagemann, Badiaa Bazarbacha, Peter Zils.
With the newly elected members of the Executive Board, the Association is gaining additional expertise from key segments of the market. Please find below short biographies of the new Executive Board members:
Reinhard Sauer, CEO, Deutsche GigaNetz GmbH
Reinhard Sauer is CEO of Deutsche GigaNetz, where he is responsible for the company’s strategic direction, corporate development and technical operations. A visionary entrepreneur and experienced executive, he brings more than 25 years of expertise in the telecommunications industry.
Over the course of his career, he has held a range of leadership positions focusing on process optimisation and organisational development, business development, company valuations, the development of migration-ready technology concepts and network designs, as well as the optimisation of network operations and service quality to enhance customer satisfaction. He also has extensive experience in turnaround management.
Before joining Deutsche GigaNetz, Reinhard Sauer spent many years at Tele Columbus, most recently serving as CTO. He has also worked independently as a consultant in the technology sector, the start-up environment and the investment industry. A trained mathematician, he is passionate about working with people to develop transformative solutions that drive sustainable success.
Peter Zils, Chairman of the Board (CEO), ecotel communication ag
Peter Zils (born 1963) is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Düsseldorf-based ecotel communication ag.
While studying telecommunications engineering at Bochum University of Applied Sciences, from which he graduated with a degree in communications engineering, he was already active as an entrepreneur. In January 1998, Peter Zils founded ecotel communication, which has since developed into a group of companies with investments across the telecommunications and technology sectors.
Since 2007, ecotel communication ag has been listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Operating nationwide, the ecotel Group has established itself as one of the leading quality providers for business customers in Germany. The company employs around 225 people and serves more than 15,000 customers with a full-service offering. Since focusing on “Cloud & Fiber” in 2022, ecotel has concentrated on two of the most important growth areas in the German telecommunications market.
From February 2015 to May 2025, Peter Zils served as a member of the VATM Executive Board. In his work for the Association, he strongly advocated for improved market and competitive conditions for the telecommunications industry within the regulatory and political environment, with a particular focus on the interests of business customer providers and their customers.
Badiaa Bazarbacha, Deputy Managing Director Germany, Vantage Towers AG
Badiaa Bazarbacha is Deputy Managing Director Germany at Vantage Towers AG. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the Group’s largest national business, which generates more than half of its global revenue. Her areas of responsibility include sales, commercial and contract management, legal, public affairs, business development and special projects.
Badiaa Bazarbacha joined Vantage Towers in 2020. Initially serving as Executive Head of Sales for the CEE region, she was responsible for sales activities in the Group’s highest-revenue core markets. In this role, she built international sales teams, diversified the product portfolio and played a key role in the successful IPO of Vantage Towers in 2021.
Before joining Vantage Towers, Badiaa Bazarbacha spent more than two decades in senior sales leadership roles at Ericsson. As Vice President & Head of Commercial Management, she managed the company’s global business relationships with Deutsche Telekom and held worldwide sales responsibility for Vodafone in the areas of radio and core networks. She began her career in product management and solution marketing for internet and mobile communications applications.
Badiaa Bazarbacha holds degrees in electrical engineering and industrial engineering and management. She is fluent in Arabic, German, English and French.
Carsten Lagemann, Geschäftsführer, Westconnect GmbH
Carsten Lagemann has been Managing Director of today’s Westconnect GmbH (formerly RWE FiberNet) since 2012. Holding a degree in electrical engineering, he began his professional career at RWE Energie AG and brings nearly 30 years of industry experience in the energy and telecommunications sectors. His extensive technical and strategic expertise has played a key role in shaping the company’s development.
Under his leadership, Westconnect’s fibre rollout has been significantly expanded. In addition, Mr Lagemann initiated and supported the establishment of E.ON TowerCo GmbH as Managing Director in 2021. Since 2022, Westconnect GmbH has operated as a joint venture between the E.ON subsidiary Westenergie and Igneo Infrastructure Partners.
The company plans, builds and operates both privately financed and publicly funded fibre-optic networks in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony and Hesse. Through the eon Highspeed brand, Westconnect serves a large number of residential and business customers. As part of its open-access model, the company also provides other market participants with access to its network infrastructure. To date, Westconnect’s fibre network extends across more than 36,000 kilometres and already reaches over one million households.
Further portrait photos of the new Executive Board members are available at:
• Extended Executive Committee
