Robert Berry, Conny Kullman Among Six Industry Leaders to be Inducted into the SSPI's Satellite Hall of Fame

NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2007/Satnews Daily/ ― The Society of Satellite Professionals International will induct six new members into its Satellite Hall of Fame on February 20, sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. 

The Hall of Fame was introduced in 1987 to recognize the valuable contributions of the visionaries and pioneers who have made possible the age of satellite communications — individuals who have devoted their careers to the advancement of technology and to helping build the political and commercial foundations of the industry. 

Among the more than 40 members of the Hall of Fame are such luminaries as Sir Arthur C. Clarke, James Van Allen, William Pickering, Harold Rosen, John Pierce, Sidney Topol, Rene Anselmo, Eddie Hartenstein, John Puente, Santiago Astrain, Olof Lundberg, Koji Kobayashi, Andrea Caruso, and Noah Samara.  

At the February 20 ceremony, the following industry leaders will join them:

• Robert Berry, chairman of Space Systems/Loral, for leadership in providing three generations of satellites to Intelsat, the US Department of Defense and other customers and introducing key direct broadcast, mobile and other satellite technologies.

• Laurier Boisvert, president and CEO (retired) of Telesat Canada, for the transformation of Telesat Canada from an unprofitable national service provider into a vibrant international competitor in satellite services and pioneer in commercializing the Ka frequency band.

• Mary Ann Elliott, chairman and CEO of Arrowhead Global Solutions, for entrepreneurship in the founding of Arrowhead, its growth into a major provider of end-to-end communications solutions, and her successful efforts to gain acceptance by the US military and intelligence community for commercial satellite communications to meet mission requirements.

• Dr. Yasuo Hirata, chairman of KDDI R&D Laboratories, for major contributions to the development of digital mobile satellite communications systems and technologies, including the INMARSAT Standard-B system and “punctured” forward error correction techniques.

• Conny Kullman, chairman (retired) of Intelsat, for leadership of the company through its transformation from an intergovernmental organization into a privately-held operator of terrestrial networks and the world's largest commercial satellite fleet.

• Dr. Delbert Smith, Senior Telecommunications Counsel, Jones Day, for his instrumental role in the recovery of the Palapa B2 and Westar VI satellites, which greatly strengthened the satellite insurance industry, and for originating the first satellite communications publication and conference.

The ceremony will take place from 6:30 to 7:15 pm at the Grand Hyatt Washington, immediately before the start of the annual SSPI Gala. Each year, the black-tie Gala brings nearly 1,300 decision-makers from the satellite industry to the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC on the opening day of the SATELLITE conference and exhibition, produced by Access Intelligence.