Via Satellite presents six nominees for the 2024 Satellite Executive of the Year award, to be announced at the Via Satellite awards luncheon on Wednesday, March 12, at SATELLITE 2025.
Peter Cannito, Redwire Chairman and CEO — Built Redwire through nine acquisitions since 2020 into a trusted space supplier. Revenue grew 52% in 2023, ~27% in 2024, and share price rose more than 600% in the past year. Recent acquisitions include Hera Systems (MEO/GEO flight heritage, national security space) and Edge Autonomy (defense UAVs).
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Don Claussen, ST Engineering iDirect CEO — Launched Intuition, a next-generation software-defined ground system for multi-orbit environments, and introduced multi-orbit tracking and switching technology. Won contracts with Viasat, Arabsat, and Indonesia’s Satria-1. Championed open standards (DIFI, WAVE) and coined the concept of “diagonalization” to break satellite industry silos.
Emile de Rijk, SWISSto12 CEO — Won HummingSat GEO satellite orders from both Intelsat (IS-45) and Viasat/Inmarsat (Inmarsat 8) — the first small GEO orders from major operators placed with a startup. Revenue grew over 40% in 2024; workforce grew ~75%. HummingSat is up to 5x lighter and lower-cost than a traditional GEO satellite.
Erin Miller, Space ISAC Executive Director — Grew Space ISAC to its 100th member in 2024, added partnerships with UKSA, CNES, the Israel Space Agency, and opened the Australia Global Hub. Established Space ISAC as the satellite industry’s central forum for cybersecurity threat intelligence and collaboration.
Flavia Tata Nardini, Fleet Space Technologies CEO and Co-Founder — Led Fleet Space’s LEO constellation for the ExoSphere critical minerals discovery platform serving Rio Tinto, Barrick, Gold Fields, and Ma’aden. Launched next-generation Centauri-6 satellite and closed a $100M Series D at a $525M valuation in 2024.
David Wajsgras, Intelsat CEO — Led Intelsat’s turnaround from capacity provider to managed services provider (now 40% of revenue). Secured IFC deals with American Airlines, Air Canada, and Japan Airlines. Managed the IS-33e satellite loss crisis, restoring 80% of customer service within one week. Positioned Intelsat for combination with SES. VS
