Tobias Nassif, senior vice president of operations for the commercial remote sensing startup

[SatNews]...he (formerly) managed the growth of the Company’s fleet to more than 75 communications satellites, in addition to maintaining ground control data systems and networks.

Executives from Skybox Imaging (Skybox) today announced Tobias Nassif has been named senior vice president of operations for the commercial remote sensing startup. A 20-year space industry veteran, Nassif will manage flight operations, customer service, image production and ground station deployment.

“Toby is one of the most seasoned operations executives in the satellite industry,” said Tom Ingersoll, Skybox Imaging CEO. “His extensive experience and track record of reliably operating a large fleet of communication satellites over the last 20 years will be key to ensuring the successful deployment and operation of the Skybox constellation planned to begin in Q2 of 2013.”

Nassif joins Skybox from Intelsat, where he worked for 11 years as the vice president of satellite operations and engineering as well as vice president of space operations. In this role, he managed the growth of Intelsat’s fleet to more than 75 communications satellites, in addition to maintaining ground control data systems and networks.  Prior to his time at Intelsat, Nassif served in the U.S. Navy in various operational roles.  Most recently, Nassif served as the chairman of the Space Data Association (SDA), a non-profit association of satellite operators that supports the controlled, reliable and efficient sharing of data that is critical to the safety and integrity of satellite operations.

“Skybox's Silicon Valley-approach to deploying a low-cost, high-performance imaging satellite constellation has the potential to bring tremendous value to government and commercial customers worldwide,” Nassif said. “I strongly believe in the opportunity ahead of me and look forward to working with what will be an industry-changing company.”