(July 14, 2022 – New York City) – After an election by the membership, the Board of Directors of Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) welcomes two new Directors for three-year terms beginning July 1:

• Andre Jones, Vice President, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions
• Christodoulos Protopapas, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hellas Sat

The Board has also appointed SpaceX Director of Commercial Launch Sales Robert Carlisle to complete the term of Jonathan Hofeller, Vice President of Starlink and Commercial Sales at SpaceX.

“The latest election confirms our Board’s determination to increase the diversity of its membership and continue expanding its geographic and sector coverage,” said executive director Robert Bell.  “I am grateful to Nicole Robinson of Ursa Space Systems for her two years of service as President and Chair of our Board and am especially glad that we get to retain her as a Director for the next three years.  Appointed by the Board to succeed her is Katherine Gizinski of ManSat, who has already demonstrated a strong, clear and collaborative approach to leadership as our President over the past fiscal year.

Continuing in service on SSPI’s Board of Directors are:

• Julie Bettinger, Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Communications, ST Engineering iDirect
• Josef Bogosian, Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing, Commercial Satellites, Boeing
• Jonathan Crawford, President & Chief Executive Officer, The SPACECONNECTION
• Negar Feher, Vice President, Business Development, Momentus
• Tony Gingiss, Chief Operating Officer, Virgin Orbit
• Katherine Gizinski (Chair), Chief Executive Officer, ManSat
• James Hinds, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus OneWeb Satellites
• Aaron Lewis, Vice President, Corporate Communications & Government Relations, Arianespace, Inc.
• Sharyn Nerenberg (Treasurer), Vice President, Corporate Communications, Hughes Network Systems
• Marie-Pierre Pluvinage, Director, Business Development, Connected Intelligence, Airbus US Space & Defense
• Nicole Robinson, President, Ursa Space Systems
• Mike Safyan, Vice President of Launch, Planet
• Dr. Walter Scott, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Maxar
• James Trevelyan, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Enterprise, Speedcast
• Jeremy Turpin, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Isotropic Systems
• Mark Witsaman, Vice President, Product Engineering, Globalstar
• Elias Zaccack, Executive Vice President, Global Sales, SES

Elizabeth Evans of K&L Gates serves as General Council.

About SSPI
Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to make the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. The space and satellite business has never seen a time of greater experimentation and disruption than we see today. Investment is the fuel for transformation, but people are the engine. SSPI helps the industry attract, develop and retain the talented people it needs to keep the engine turning. People who connect through high-profile events and gain recognition from prestigious awards. People who rely on SSPI for a broader understanding of the industry as much as for individual networking and career mentoring. From young people seeking a career path to industry veterans with wisdom to share, SSPI connects them all.

Talent, investment and opportunity flow to industries that make a difference. SSPI is the only organization that also promotes the enormous value of space and satellite through dramatic stories of our technologies and companies making a better world. Those stories overturn misconceptions about the industry that hold it back. They inspire our people and attract new ones to the industry. They help justify investment and give new customers a reason to care about our services and products. Through the stories we tell and the people we serve, SSPI inspires the growth of the $1 trillion space economy of the future.

For More Information
Victoria Krisman
Communications Manager
Space & Satellite Professionals International
vkrisman@sspi.org