[SatNews] XTAR, LLC, a key provider of satellite services to the government and allied forces, announced today that Philip Harlow has been named President and Chief Operating Officer.  Mr. Harlow succeeds Dr. Denis J. Curtin, who is retiring.

Harlow makes his move from CapRock (which was just acquired by Harris) to XTAR, and takes the helm at XTAR during a time of heightened demand from U.S. and Allied military forces for commercially-provided X-band services. In his new position, he will be responsible for the growth and strategic direction of XTAR’s global business, overseeing the management, marketing and technical aspects of the company.

Dr. Curtin, who has overseen the technical, business and marketing operations of XTAR since its founding a decade ago, will serve in an advisory role at XTAR during Mr. Harlow’s transition and will continue to serve as a member of its Board of Directors.

Before joining XTAR, Mr. Harlow worked as Chief Technology Officer for Houston-based CapRock Communications (now acquired by Harris Corp). In this role, Mr. Harlow was responsible for all aspects of engineering, IT, infrastructure development, new product management and strategic planning. Previously, he was Vice President of Engineering and Technology at DRS Technical Services, a provider of satellite, terrestrial and enterprise-wide network communications services. He joined DRS in 2006 from Intelsat General where he served as Vice President of Engineering following the acquisition of PanAmSat.

Prior to joining PanAmSat/G2, Mr. Harlow was instrumental in the PanAmSat acquisition and integration of Esatel Communications, where he served as Vice President for Business Development.  Mr. Harlow also worked at Loral Orion as Director for Sales Engineering supporting the North America Sales Group.

Mr. Harlow graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom, and holds an honors degree in Electronic Systems Engineering from the Royal Military College of Science. He also has a Masters degree in Systems Engineering from George Washington University.

"Under Denis Curtin’s leadership XTAR grew from a drawing board concept to become the first commercially-operated X-band system dedicated to government and military service,” said Michael B. Targoff, Chairman of the Board of Directors of XTAR, LLC. “Denis has been a dedicated and technically savvy leader of the company for many years and we are grateful to him for his years of service.  We wish him all the best in his retirement and future endeavors.”