The death of Irving Goldstein last Friday has led key industry officials to recall the substantial contributions he made to the satellite industry at critical times during its development.

As the former chief executive of both Intelsat and Comsat Corp. [CQ], Goldstein was credited with leading both organizations toward higher profile roles amid the rising demand for telecommunications in the United States and worldwide. Goldstein had retired from Intelsat in 1998 after serving as director general for six years.

Goldstein headed Comsat’s direct-to-home venture, STC, before taking the helm of Comsat and then moving to Intelsat in the early 1990s. As Intelsat’s director general, Goldstein took the organization on its current path toward privatization.

“He was in many ways a pioneer in getting the industry respectability and visibility in the general telecommunications industry,” Eric Novotny, vice president of marketing and sales at International Launch Services (ILS) said. “He was able to take Intelsat and put it on the front page in terms of service development, growth and beginning the needed move toward privatization. He really laid the groundwork for Intelsat’s eventual privatization that we are dealing with now.

“He brought a great deal of dignity and good humor to the industry,” said Tim Logue, a telecommunications consultant at the Coudert Brothers law firm.