Leadership team

Mark Dankberg is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Viasat, Inc. He co-founded the company in 1986.

As CEO, Mark focuses on advancing the strategic technology and business direction of Viasat. He is responsible for the executive and operational leadership of the company, with an emphasis on building and growing a customer-centric organization that will continue to deliver compelling global services and products.

Under his leadership, Viasat has consistently been one of America’s fastest growing technology companies, and has been recognized multiple times by leading business and industry publications including BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, DefenseNews, SpaceNews, and Washington Technology for its leadership.

Mark is an acknowledged industry expert in aerospace, defense, and satellite communications, and is the leading visionary for a new generation of high-capacity satellite systems. He has co-authored several military standards on satellite networking, and holds a number of patents in communications and satellite networking technologies. He has participated on Department of Defense advisory panels and was invited to testify before a Congressional committee on high technology growth companies and IPOs.

Mark has received a number of awards for his industry and business leadership:

• 2022 San Diego Business Journal’s SD500 Leaders
• 2022 Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2018 CONNECT Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
• 2017 LEAD San Diego Economic Opportunity Award
• 2017 Elected a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
• 2016 Director of the Year Honoree by San Diego-based Corporate Directors Forum
• 2015 Society of Satellite Professionals Hall of Fame
• 2013 San Diego Business Journal Most Admired CEO Founders Award
• 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Industry Innovator
• 2012 Visionary Executive of the Year, Satellite Markets and Research
• 2008 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace International Communications Award
• 2003 Satellite Industry Executive of the Year in 2003
• 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year in San Diego in 2000

Mark previously served as Executive Chairman of Viasat from November 2020 to June 2022, and as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer from Viasat’s inception in 1986 until November 2020. He currently serves on the board of directors of Lytx, Inc., a privately-held company that provides fleet safety management solutions, and was a founding member of the board of directors of the San Diego Telecom Council (now CommNexus), and served on the San Diego County Regional Economic Advisory Board.

Mark has been an invited speaker on communication technology, entrepreneurship, and executive management at several universities including Rice University, NYU, and University of California at San Diego. In addition, he has been invited to serve as a judge several times at the local and national levels for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program.

Prior to founding Viasat, Mark was Assistant Vice President of M/A-COM Linkabit, a manufacturer of satellite telecommunications equipment, from 1979 to 1986, and Communications Engineer for Rockwell International Corporation from 1977 to 1979.

He earned B.S. EE and M.S. EE degrees from Rice University and is a member of the Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering Hall of Fame.

Responsibilities

Tony is responsible for the financial management of the Group including planning, control, capital structure and investor relations, the provision of financial and commercial support to decision makers across the Group, and a financial operations service.

Previous roles include

• Group CFO of YellGroup Plc (hibu plc); 
• Group CFO and then COO of ColtGroup S.A.; 
• Group Finance Director at EMI plc.

Responsibilities

Jat is responsible for the development of strategic digital partnerships, accelerating commercial and product services to the business units, and growing revenues in commercial land markets. In her role, she focuses heavily on customer insight to ensure the company continues to lead the industry in advanced, customer-centric digital-first products and commercial services for mobility and Government users.

Previous roles include

• Chief Commercial and Product Officer (2021-2023)
• Inmarsat SVP, Group Commercial Management (2019-2021)
• Group Commercial Finance Director at BMI Group (2018-2019)
• Senior roles in telecoms and technology brands including Logica Group PLC (now part of CGI), Telefonica Europe PLC and T-Mobile (UK) Ltd

Responsibilities

Natasha is responsible for creating and implementing Inmarsat’s people strategy, including developing excellent leadership, building an effective and capable organisation, delivering a compelling employee value proposition for our people and driving strong performance.

Previous roles include

• Korn Ferry Hay Group, Senior Client Partner (2015 – 2016); 
• Hay Group, Associate Director (2012 – 2015); 
• Ernst and Young, Senior Manager / Manager (2010 – 2012); 
• BP, various commercial and HR roles (1997 – 2009).

Barry was appointed as Inmarsat’s Chief Marketing & Communications Officer in April 2021. An award-winning, multi-industry leader in communications, marketing and corporate affairs, he joins Inmarsat from Nokia, where he was Chief Marketing Officer from 2014-2020. During his time at the company, Barry was responsible for fundamentally repositioning Nokia Siemens Networks as a ‘mobile networks specialist’, rebuilding the Nokia brand, amplifying its value by >4X, and strengthening financial communications. He pioneered an award-winning sustainability programme and was a key member of the executive leadership team that drove the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition.

Barry started his career in the world of political consulting in the United States and has worked at companies including the Sawyer/Miller Group, Dell, Raytheon, United Airlines and Nokia. A Political Science graduate, Barry holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York.

At Inmarsat, Barry is responsible for Inmarsat’s marketing, communications and government affairs with a remit to sharpen customer focus, drive customer engagement and revenue generation to the next level, ensure Inmarsat is an effective and engaged participant in key policy discussions, and further enhance employee engagement. 

Fredrik was appointed as Inmarsat’s Chief Strategy Officer in June 2021, reporting to the company’s CEO, Rajeev Suri.  A highly accomplished Strategy and Corporate Development Director, he has a proven track record of delivering substantial added shareholder value for companies across a range of industry sectors with a core focus on aviation and transport.

Prior to joining Inmarsat, Fredrik was a UK-based managing director of Teneo, the global CEO advisory firm and, from 2012-2019, was Head of Strategy and M&A at easyJet. 

At easyJet, he was responsible to the Management Board across a broad strategy agenda and M&A execution, which included the acquisition of parts of Air Berlin, securing key airport slots for the multinational airline group and the company’s investment in the travel search engine DoHop.

Fredrik was also a Vice President of Investment Banking in the UK at Credit Suisse, the leading global investment bank, from 2006-2012.  As a senior member of the team that applied Credit Suisse’s proprietary HOLT valuation framework, he helped to deepen client relationships through strategic and valuation advisory services across M&A and equity capital markets transactions.

From 2003-2006, he was a corporate finance and strategy specialist at McKinsey & Co in London.

Fredrik has an MSc in both Electrical Engineering and Financial Economics.

Responsibilities

Peter became CTO in 2018. He leads the engineering teams responsible for delivering Inmarsat’s future satellites, network infrastructure, terminal technologies and spectrum resources. CTO delivers the differentiated and reliable global communications capabilities that make a difference in the lives of our customers and ensure that Inmarsat remains a leader in enabling the connected world.

Previous roles include

• Inmarsat, President U.S. Government Business Unit (2013 – 2018); 
• Inmarsat, VP GX Government (2011 – 2013); 
• TRW Northrop Grumman Space, leadership roles in Engineering and Business Development (1981 – 2011).

Responsibilities

Alison is responsible for Group wide risk management, global compliance, corporate governance, group legal, market access and regulatory policy. She acts as Company Secretary to the Board and its Committees. She is a member of the Executive Management Team and Chairman of the Trustee Company for the Inmarsat UK pension plans. Alison also manages our teams in India and China and covering Russia, the Stans and Turkey. 

Previous roles include

• Group Company Secretary of International Public Relations plc, a worldwide public relations company, for 11 years prior to joining Inmarsat.

Responsibilities

Todd is responsible for leading and driving Inmarsat’s government business in all regions of the world outside of the USA. This includes developing strategies that deliver greater operational capability to governments and providing holistic solutions that meet government telecommunications requirements.

Previous roles include

• Inmarsat, VP Global Government Solutions 2013 – 2018; 
• TC Communications, CEO 2003 – 2013.

Responsibilities

Susan is responsible for defining and implementing the overall strategy of expanding Inmarsat’s leadership position across U.S. defense, intelligence, homeland security and civilian organisations; delivering innovative customised, secure communication capabilities to land, maritime and aero users; meeting mission-critical connectivity needs around the world. Inmarsat Government manages a robust partnership programme that includes working with best-of-breed channel partners to deliver Inmarsat’s reliable satellite communication services and solutions to U.S. government end users worldwide.

Previous roles include

• MTN Satellite Communications, Executive VP, Strategy and Corporate Development (2012-2013); 
• Spacenet Integrated Government Solutions, Inc., CEO (2009 – 2012); 
• SkyTerra, Inc., Senior VP, Satellite Services (2007 – 2009); 
• Intelsat General Corp., President and Chairman of the Board (2002 – 2006).

Ben was appointed President of Inmarsat’s maritime business in November 2021. He is responsible for the company’s global commercial strategy and execution in merchant marine, offshore energy, fishing, maritime passenger and leisure markets.

Ben brings 25 years’ experience of driving growth, performance improvement and transformation in complex technology-heavy businesses. He has a track record of building high performing teams, is committed to placing the customer at the heart of what we do, and enjoys building deep relationships to deliver value.

Previous roles include

• Managing Director, Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems Europe division (2019-2021)
• European Strategy and Business Development Director, Northrop Grumman Corporation (2014-2019)
• Vice President, Enterprise Improvement, AlixPartners (2012-2014)

Responsibilities

Jason is responsible for Inmarsat’s global operations and service delivery, including the satellite fleet and ground network, business and IT systems, business transformation programmes, global service delivery and distribution, assuring the quality of service and customer experience excellence.

Previous roles include

• Rolls-Royce: President Nuclear/COO Nuclear/ President Submarines (2009 – 2015); 
• AWE: Deputy Managing Director/Programme and Business Management Director (2000 – 2009).