Image Credits: Astranis
As a new two-year-old company Astranis reports themselves as a serious player in the satellite industry having finished their first satellite, sold many more, scaled to over 300 employees, and moved into a world-class facility that will support them at the required size.
Astranis reports this upcoming year is going to involve the launch of five satellites, including four on a dedicated Falcon 9 rocket, and the company has enjoyed multiple sales for satellite programs to serve countries worldwide. To accommodate this growth Doug Abts, formerly a senior executive at Viasat, has just joined Astranis as new Chief Commercial Officer.
After graduating from Stanford, Doug started his career as an Operations Officer in the US Navy SEAL Teams, so he knows how to lead high-performance teams in dynamic environments. During those years of service, Doug headed global activities for a 300-person Navy SEAL Team, leading multiple successful overseas operations, and was ranked as the #1 Lieutenant on the West Coast.
Doug then earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and transitioned to the private sector, ultimately becoming a Corporate Vice President at engineering company SAIC, and then a Senior Vice President at satellite services provider Viasat. Notably, Doug served as General Manager for the Viasat Global Enterprise and Mobility business, which he led from an early stage effort to a market-leading business with a multi-hundred million dollar run-rate. Doug also led Viasat’s most significant M&A efforts in its history, with transactions totaling billions of dollars.
Doug’s broad area of expertise is welcome in the Astranis senior leadership team, directly applicable to the task of scaling a satellite services business.
Astranis’ mission is to connect the world, and the only way to achieve such an audacious goal is one step at a time. Having built a solid foundation, and with Doug joining the ranks, they will achieve their mission and connect millions, then billions, of people to reliable, affordable broadband internet.