Inmarsat appoints Vice President of Inflight Services

Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has appointed Mario Franci as Vice President of Inflight Services. As part of the aviation management team, he will focus on developing the aviation cabin business for Inmarsat, working with airlines to jointly commercialise the services.

Mario was previously Inmarsat’s Vice President of European Aviation Communications and led the air-to-ground component of the recently announced European Aviation Network (EAN), the first aviation passenger connectivity solution in Europe to combine an advanced satellite network and LTE-based ground network. He will continue to oversee the commercial delivery of EAN under his new role as Vice President of Inflight Services.

Leo Mondale, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Mario has made an extremely valuable contribution to Inmarsat’s aviation team under his previous role as Vice President of European Aviation Communications. In particular, he was instrumental in our recently launched European Aviation Network, which is set to transform inflight connectivity for passengers on European flights. Mario’s impressive skillset, experience and industry-wide contacts made him the ideal candidate to lead and develop our increasingly important cabin business in the newly created role of Vice President of Inflight Services.”

Prior to joining Inmarsat, Mario worked in a number of senior management roles at Vodafone for 15 years, including Director of Consumer Retail and Distribution, Director of Business Marketing, and Head of Business Planning. He also served at management consulting and private equity firm Monitor Company for almost eight years, conducting projects across multiple industries, such as telecommunications, logistics and retail.  Mario has a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan.