Michael Porcelain, Comtech CEO. Photo: Comtech

Comtech Telecommunications has completed its previously announced leadership transition, with Michael Porcelain taking the helm as CEO. 

Porcelain succeeds longtime Comtech CEO Fred Kornberg, who has been with the company since 1971, and CEO since 1976. Kornberg will serve as an advisor to the company on technology matters and continue as a director and non-executive chairman of the board.

Porcelain takes over as CEO as Comtech is working to bounce back from the pandemic’s effects on its customer base. For fiscal year 2021, Comtech posted $582 million in sales, a 5.7% decrease from the prior year. The company is targeting fiscal 2022 net sales in the range of $580 million to $600 million. 

This is part of a succession plan initiated by the board of directors in 2018, when Porcelain was appointed COO. He was then appointed president in 2020. 

“The past twenty-four months have seen a significant and generational transformation of both our company and our markets overall. I’m excited to take my own experience with all parts of Comtech’s operations and drive a new level of performance alongside our team,” Porcelain commented. 

In addition, Wendi Carpenter and Mark Quinlan joined Comtech’s board of directors as new independent board directors on Jan. 3. This follows after Comtech reached an agreement on the board members with shareholder Outerbridge Capital Management. As part of the agreement, an additional independent director will join the board, someone agreed upon by both Comtech and Outerbridge. A search firm is working to identify candidates.