The 2020 Satellite Industry Association state of the satellite industry report estimates a ground equipment market approaching $130 billion of the $271 billion global revenues.
What are the most significant satellite specific developments in ground systems witnessed recently? What new capacities can be expected in the near future and what implication do those capacities have for the broader satellite industry?
With worldwide networks involving thousands of satellites, what’s new in the area of distributed systems networks and how can the market be expected to grow in the near future?
Katherine Gizinski
Katherine Gizinski is the Chief Commercial Officer for ManSat, the global market leader in commercial provision of spectrum to the satellite industry.
Before her tenure at ManSat, Katherine worked with U.S. defense contractors to bring cutting edge commercial satellite and terrestrial communication technologies to austere environments in support of military, diplomatic, first responder, and commercial initiatives.
Leading global product and service sales for Mission Mobility, Katherine drove the development of next-generation rugged and resilient communications at the network edge.
In her time with Kratos Defense, Katherine supported tactical and executive communication solutions for military and civil programs including the Department of State REACH program which provided emergency communication capability to every U.S. Embassy and Consulate worldwide.
Katherine holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia.
Pam Lugos
Pam Lugos is currently the Vice President of Business Development at CPI Satcom Products responsible for global business development. Pam joined CPI in 1993 and has held various roles in Product Management, Worldwide Service and Customer support, Program Management of New Product Development and Business Development. She has 25 years of experience in the Satcom ground equipment segment specific to amplifiers and amplifier technology. Pam received her undergraduate degree from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in Industrial Technology and her MBA from Santa Clara University.
Katherine D. Monson
Katherine Monson is the Head of KSAT USA for Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT). KSAT is a world-leading provider of ground station services for satellites, rocket launchers, and experimental spacecraft – supporting over 96% of commercial satellites launched into NGSO during the last two years. With over 50 years of experience, KSAT’s networktoday spans over 180 antennas at 20 ground station locations across the globe (including Pole to Pole coverage from Antarctica to the Arctic), and is constantly expanding. KSAT is proud to be the behind-the-scenes bridge back to earth, supporting the vast majority of space companies, agencies, and start-ups.
Katherine began her career in aerospace as an early member of Spire Global. During her tenure at Spire, Katherine led the Ground Station department, building out a global network of infrastructure to download data from the constellation of over forty spacecraft.
Prior to her work in aerospace, Katherine was a consultant for C-suite executives at Fortune 500 companies, specializing in high-stakes negotiations and high-impact strategic partnerships. Her recent clients include The Coca-Cola Company, Deloitte, Thomson Reuters, and GlobalFoundries. Katherine began her career as a Fellow at the U.S. Department of Defense, where she supported International Negotiations around joint research and development efforts.
Katherine is an avid hiker, and enjoys learning new languages and exploring new places. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Thomas Van den Driessche
Thomas Van den Driessche is the president & chief commercial officer of ST Engineering iDirect, where he is responsible for defining our strategy, execution and communications to achieve short- and long-term goals.
Over the past 18 years, he has been active in the broadcast and satellite markets. Prior to ST Engineering iDirect, Van den Driessche was the CEO of Newtec where, during his 11-year tenure, he held various positions including sales and business development, VP of market strategy, and chief commercial officer, before becoming CEO.
Preceding Newtec, he began his career as a product manager in the broadcast and AV market, and received awards for his work by leading organizations such as NAB, Infocomm and Vanguard.
Van den Driessche holds a Master’s degree in electronics and marketing from the University of Ghent.
Tony Wilkey
Tony Wilkey is Senior Vice President at AvL Technologies with responsibility for US Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. Tony has 30 years of experience in satellite communications in engineering, sales, program management, and general management roles. He began his career at Ford Aerospace in Palo Alto, California (1981-1983) before joining RSI SatCom Technologies (1983-1987, 1992-1995), Georgia Tech Research Institute (1987-1992), COMSAT RSI (1995-1998), and TriPoint Global (1998-2000). Most recently he served as Director of Antenna Systems Business Development for ViaSat (2000-2008), a $500MM US satellite ground systems equipment provider, before joining AvL Technologies in 2008. Tony earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 1981 and his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 1983.