The 2021 Teleport Executive of the Year was named by the World Teleport Association (WTA). Sean McDaniel, CEO, ATLAS Space Operations achieved the title and will accept the award at the 2021 Teleport Awards Celebration on September 8 during the SATELLITE 2021 conference in Washington, DC. The Teleport Executive of the Year award is presented to an individual for demonstrated entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation in the development or operation of a teleport-based business.
“Sean differs from many of our Executives of the Year in being a relative newcomer to the teleport industry — and also being one of a small handful of leaders who developed a completely new business model for the sector,” said executive director Robert Bell. “The ground-segment-as-a-service model of ATLAS Space is facility-light and software-heavy, and it offers new revenue opportunities to facility-based operators and an online service model for customers. We are glad to mark this milestone through our annual Awards.”
Sean McDaniel has led the implementation of alignment throughout ATLAS. With his vision for the future of LEO teleports empowered by a common cloud-based interface and AI-based satellite contact scheduling, ATLAS has been able to secure patents on its software algorithms and develop a shared-asset model for NGSO satellite support while scaling the ATLAS Freedom network from six to 14 LEO teleports. Accountability within ATLAS has empowered individuals to rise to their professional best.
Mr. McDaniel lead the ATLAS team to be ranked No. 102 on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the 5000 most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Furthermore, this ranking positioned ATLAS as No.15 of the nation’s fastest growing software companies.
He has led ATLAS to be a STEM and industry trailblazer. ATLAS has founded and sponsors the USA’s only BSA Explorer Post focused on the space industry. The ATLAS Space Explorer Post 2025 allows young adults to learn about career opportunities in the space sector through experiential learning. ATLAS was also the founding organization behind the Michigan Space Forum and North American Space Summit, bringing professionals and society together to educate and participate in the exciting opportunities of the emerging space economy.
In addition to Mr. McDaniel, the list of Teleport Executive of the Year alumni includes Mauricio Segovia of AXESS Networks; Guido Neumann of CETel; Carlos Raba of Santander Teleport; Abel Avellan of Global Eagle; Pierre-Jean Beylier of SpeedCast; Avi Cohen of RR Media; Bill Tillson of Encompass Digital Media; Adrian Ballintine of NewSat Ltd.; Jaime Dickinson of NewCom International; Doug Tutt of Global Energy Services, CapRock Communications; the late Kenneth Miller of Globecomm Systems; David Rivel of RRsat Global Communications Network; Nick Thompson of Arqiva Broadcast & Media; Brent J. Gale of EchoStar; Norberto Alvarez Vitale of Teleport Internacional Buenos Aires; and Jorge Luis Villarreal Schutz of Elara Comunicaciones.