Global Satellite Executives to Discuss Financial Trends and Future Initiatives at SBCA’s Fall 2003 Skyforum in New York

Panel Will Include Alcatel Space, Arianespace, Intelsat, and SES GLOBAL

ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 14, 2003 – The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association announced today that its fall 2003 SkyFORUM, the satellite services industry’s premier financial symposium, will feature a panel of top executives from leading international satellite operators, service providers and launch companies who will discuss the latest developments, financial trends and future initiatives in the international satellite marketplace. SkyFORUM will be held on Thursday, October 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City.

The panel, “View from the Top: A Worldwide Executive Roundtable,” was organized in conjunction with the Space Foundation, a Colorado-based organization created to advance and support civil, commercial and national security space endeavors and education. Elliot Pulham, president and chief executive officer of the Foundation, will serve as the panel’s moderator. For a decade prior to joining the Foundation, Pulham managed public relations, employee communication and advertising initiatives for all space programs of The Boeing Company.

The panelists are:  Romain Bausch, president and CEO, SES GLOBAL, and chairman of its executive committee; Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO, Arianespace; Ramu Potarazu, COO, Intelsat, Ltd.; and, Pascale Sourisse, chairman and CEO, Alcatel Space.

Bausch joined SES GLOBAL in May 1995. He is also chairman and on the board of directors of AsiaSat, vice chairman of the board of directors of Nordic Satellite AB, and a member of the board of directors of SATLYNX. Previously he served as Administrator General in the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance.

Le Gall joined Arianespace in 2001, originally as its chief operating officer and was promoted to chief executive officer in June of 2002. Previously he had been chairman and CEO at Starsem, a French-Russian joint venture for marketing and operating the Soyuz launcher. In 1996 he joined the French CNES space agency as deputy director general in charge of strategy and external relations, while at the same time serving as the French delegate to the European Space Agency.

Potarazu has held his title since March 2003. In his capacity as COO of Intelsat, Ltd., he is responsible for Intelsat’s corporate strategy, leading the direction of business development, marketing, broadband programs and the establishment of new strategic business units for voice and data, video, and government services.

Sourisse was appointed to her current position in January 2002. She is also the president and CEO of Alcatel Spacecom, a subsidiary of Alcatel Space, which manages Alcatel’s stakes in satellite operators and satellite service companies. Sourisse joined Alcatel Space in 1995, as director, strategy and planning. Prior to that, she spent four years at the French Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade as head of the Consumer Electronics and Audiovisual Communication Division.

“Current and future trends in the international marketplace are of critical importance to our industry,” said Clay Mowry, president of Arianespace, Inc. and SkyTRENDS chairman. “We are thrilled to work closely with the Space Foundation in bringing such a diverse and esteemed array of global perspectives together on the SkyFORUM stage.”

The fall SkyFORUM will also include executive interviews and presentations, live demonstrations of emerging products and services, analyst predictions, and panel discussions on satellite radio, international programming, and more.

Additional information and registration for SkyFORUM can be found on the SBCA website at http://www.sbca.com/FallSkyFORUM03/ or by contactingBrian Lynchat SBCA at (800) 541-5981 or blynch@sbca.org.

SkyFORUM was developed to create a higher awareness of the satellite industry among the financial and investment communities, and the media. SkyTRENDS is the SBCA’s market research, data collection and reporting program for the satellite services industry. SkyTRENDS is a committee of the SBCA and is directed by SBCA’s SkyTRENDS partners with assistance from Media Business Corp. 

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association is the national trade organization representing all segments of the satellite industry.  It is committed to expanding the utilization of satellite technology for the broadcast delivery of video, audio, data, music, voice, interactive, and broadband services.  The SBCA is comprised of DBS, C-band, broadband, satellite radio, and other satellite service providers, content providers, equipment manufacturers, distributors, retailers, encryption vendors, and national and regional distribution companies that make up the satellite services industry. SBCA oversees the industry’s National Standards and Testing Program (NSTP), a self-regulating training and testing curriculum for installation professionals. Additional information can be found at www.sbca.com.