In this issue, we honor Peter Shaper, CEO of CapRock Communications, as the Via Satellite Executive of the Year 2009. CapRock performed exceptionally well under Shaper’s leadership during a year that brought both the worst of economic times and the best in what drives success in the satellite communications sector as a whole.

Shaper joins a list of more than 20 industry visionaries, beginning with PanAmSat Founder Rene Anselmo in 1988, who have been honored by Via Satellite for making a durable contribution to satellite sector markets, technologies, business practices, services innovations or any combination.

The process of selecting the Executive of the Year normally begins with a field of about 15 candidates, but in 2009, the Via Satellite editorial team considered and discussed the merits of about 25 executives. We narrowed that initial field down to 12 in the first stages, and those executives were then subject to another round of consideration before we determined the industry heavyweights profiled in our February issue.

While we normally feature five to six nominees, there are years when one of those executives (or group of executives) is a clear standout. That was not the case this year, as the discussion on the eventual winner stretched out much longer than in past years. What struck the editorial team most is that even in a year characterized by economic gloom, there were many strong performances. It really was a high quality competition, with a very diverse range of candidates across different segments of the industry serving as examples of the innovative and successful strategies found in all areas of the satellite communications sector.

Shaper’s actions were representative of the vision it took to be successful in the current global economy. The seeds of his performance were planted years ago, as he took a long-term view of the communications landscape and made moves to position CapRock to take advantage of markets that were poised to blossom in the coming years.

While his moves may not have paid off immediately, the efforts of Shaper and all of the employees at CapRock were rewarded in 2009, as some of these target markets, primarily the energy and military sectors, proved to be good bets.

Of course, no one is perfect, and Shaper is still waiting for investments in the commercial shipping market to fully pay off. “Not many customers were prepared to invest additional money given how difficult the economic times have been for shipping companies,” said Shaper during his interview with Via Satellite. “We have seen a lot of fleets doing pilot programs but waiting to see if the economics for the industry come back before signing fleet-wide contracts.”

But like all successful moves in this industry, patience is required, and Shaper has confidence that the shipping market will pay off as well as the overall economy recovers.

Please join us at SATELLITE 2010 to help us honor Shaper for his accomplishment. The Satellite Executive of the Year Award Presentation Luncheon, sponsored by Boeing, will be held Wednesday, March 17, followed by the Satellite Executive of the Year Reception, sponsored by Arianespace, that evening.

And as soon as those festivities end, we can start thinking about the 2010 Executive of the Year field, one that undoubtedly will be as strong as this year’s group.