Allied Minds plc (LSE: ALM) has appointed Barry Matsumori as the new CEO of BridgeSat, Inc. (BridgeSat), effective July 17, 2017.

This appointment follows the successful Series A funding round announced by BridgeSat on May 5, 2017. BridgeSat, an Allied Minds subsidiary, was founded on technology sourced from The Aerospace Corporation, seeking to revolutionize satellite data downlinking with an advanced, optical communications network. Delivering faster, more reliable and affordable data transmission to the rapidly growing LEO satellite sector will enable a new era of applications and services.

BridgeSat's new CEO, Barry Matsumori.

Matsumori has extensive experience in the wireless and Space 2.0 sectors, including nine years at Qualcomm where he served as the VP of Wireless Connectivity. Most recently, he lead business development roles at SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. This experience is well aligned to BridgeSat's development objectives as the company seeks to advance the three components of their offering: space terminal, ground station and management network.

Jill Smith, the CEO of Allied Minds, welcomed Barry to BridgeSat, especially given his extensive combined experience in Space 2.0 and wireless communications in business development and technology management roles as well as his impressive leadership qualities. Barry's appointment is consistent with the firm's recently stated intentions to invest in dedicated talent earlier in the investment cycle and to create clearer lines of responsibility and accountability for delivery on business plans and key milestones. Barry will be integral as BridgeSat moves to acquire launch customers and demonstrate the firm's first end-to-end optical downlink of data through the operation of its first ground station.

Barry Matsumori declared he is looking forward to delivering on the huge potential for this company to service the fast growing LEO satellite market with a new and differentiated optical communications technology.