Lynk’s laboratory in Virginia Photo: Lynk

Lynk Global named former Intelsat President Ramu Potarazu as CEO on Thursday as the company goes through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. 

This comes two months after Lynk announced CCO Dan Dooley would become CEO. According to the Nov. 7 announcement, Dooley will resume the position of CCO. A Lynk representative confirmed to Via Satellite that appointing Potarazu was part of a planned executive realignment and Dooley was acting in an interim capacity. 

Lynk has developed satellites that can communicate directly with unmodified cell phones. The company is currently going through a SPAC deal to combine with Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez-led SPAC Slam Corp. The SPAC faces a deadline to complete the combination in late December. 

Potarazu was with Intelsat for 16 years from 1990 to 2006. He held senior leadership roles with Intelsat, including president and chief operating officer. He previously established software company Vubiquity and led the Binary Foundation, cloud video solutions company Shift Media, and software company EditShare. 

“I believe Lynk’s patented technology has redefined the future of the satellite and telecommunications industries by developing proprietary satellite technologies, connectivity capabilities and seamless solutions that can connect everyone, everywhere,” Potarazu commented. “From 2G, to 5G and to the next frontier, the goal is for Lynk to be at the forefront of satellite-to-device technology.  

In addition, Lynk also hired Steven Fay as CFO. Fay spent the past 10 years serving as a founding executive member and deputy CFO of OneWeb where he led all finance and early-stage business operations. He also previously worked for Google as head of LEO satellite operations, and Sirius XM Radio.