At the beginning of each year, the satellite industry looks forward to seeing who will be honored as Via Satellite’s Satellite Executive of the Year. For many years, I was among those waiting to see which executive would capture the award. But after joining the staff in mid-2005, I was able to see the other side of the process during the discussion that led to the selection of Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall as the 2005 recipient.
It was an eye-opening experience, and now that I find myself guiding this year’s selection process, I have an even greater appreciation for the amount of research that is performed, the amount of debate that goes into determining who reaches nominee status and the passion that many people in the industry have as they advocate for their favored candidate.
The months-long process of selecting the winner is guided by the basic idea that this award should honor the most outstanding executive performance of the previous calendar year. While many outstanding executives have contributed to the growth of the satellite industry throughout the past several decades, this is neither a lifetime achievement award nor a retirement honor. The focus on a single year not only gives the award its weight, it helps keep the list of potential nominees within a reasonable limit.
But even with this basic parameter, the list of candidates brought forth at the beginning of the process was quite long.
The editorial staff of Access Intelligence’s Satellite Group discussed the merits of more than 20 executives during its initial meeting in October, some submitted by other officials in the industry and some introduced by the staff. By focusing on the major business achievements of the year and looking for executives who truly made an impact in their specific market sector and throughout the industry, the committee was able to select a list of worthy nominees. They are featured in the February issue.
It is from this list that the winner will be selected.
Those executives that were discussed but not honored among our nominees had some notable achievements during the past year as well, but they may be even stronger candidates in another year. Many are highlighted in our “Ones to Watch” section, as the moves they made during 2006 have put them in position to make a significant impact on the industry in 2007.
But the focus today is on the nominees for the 2006 award. We are certain that our choices for the nominees and the Satellite Executive of the Year for 2006 will prompt discussion and bring both praise and criticism from various sectors of the industry. But in any case, the final nominees are those that went beyond the basics in 2006. Some established new products or services that will help their companies compete against other satellite providers as well as against growing competition from terrestrial providers of communications services. Others have made major strides in their business plans during 2006 to firmly entrench themselves as a viable force in the industry for years to come. All of the nominees are well deserving of this honor.
The winner will grace the cover of our March issue and will be honored at SATELLITE 2007 in Washington, D.C. with a Feb. 21 luncheon sponsored by Boeing Co. and an evening reception hosted by Arianespace. We look forward to seeing you there.