Mary Cotton cannot be accused of thinking small, which makes her the perfect fit to head VT iDirect Inc.
Cotton joined iDirect as CEO in September 2007 bringing more than 18 years of experience in helping technology companies turn their expertise into revenue. Prior to taking over iDirect, Cotton served as senior vice president with SAP Industry Solutions, a business application software company, and before that she spent 17 years at Aspen Technology Inc., a provider of software and services designed to help companies improve their manufacturing processes.
"The focus in my business has been taking complicated engineering products and bringing them to market to solve business problems," she says. "What attracted me to iDirect was I saw satellite communications as a promising industry. There has been a change in the core element of next-generation carrier networks. The focus now is on great connectivity. At the end of the day, people can’t be without their Blackberrys or the Internet, and people don’t notice it much but satellite plays a key role in that connectivity. It’s necessary for what we need to do."
During Cotton’s tenure at Aspen Technology, she helped the company grow from $6 million in revenues and 40 employees to $350 million in revenues and nearly 2,000 employees, and she sees "an opportunity to do a very similar thing" at iDirect. Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, Cotton believes iDirect could reach $500 million in yearly revenues in the next three to five years.
Cotton spoke with Via Satellite Editor Jason Bates about her plans.
VIA SATELLITE: What attracted you to iDirect?
COTTON: Long ago, when John Kealey made a choice of not competing with customers and being a software and product supplier, it opened up a market opportunity and clearly differentiated us. This positions iDirect to be an important solver of business problems for our partners. An example of this is our relationship with Verizon. At Panasonic, we’re working with the aviation division to bring satellite technology innovation to benefit the airline industry, not just solving the technical issues that have grounded in-flight broadband, but designing a system by which airlines can grow revenues through advertising and pay-per-use content.
Interestingly, satellite communications can be an unsung part of many networking solutions, and the industry tends to think of itself as marginalized. I look at satellite connectivity as really not something that just fits in, but something that drives business for our partners. There are more applications we’re finding where satellite plays a critical role. I believe the market may be bigger than people think.
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