- Leverages senior talent from both companies
- Experienced management team with decades of
experience
- Positions enterprise for growth across broad set of space
markets
- Combined company renamed Maxar Technologies
SAN FRANCISCO and VANCOUVER, Oct. 5,
2017 /PRNewswire/ - MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
("MDA" or the "Company") (TSX: MDA and NYSE: MDA), a leading global
provider of advanced space technology solutions for commercial and
government markets, today announced senior executive appointments
following the completion of MDA's acquisition of DigitalGlobe, Inc.
("DigitalGlobe"). The appointments strengthen and position the
Company to serve the U.S. government, international governments and
the Company's commercial customers as a mission-critical partner
with an expanded portfolio of space technology solutions.
"This is a very strong group of talented senior executives,"
said Howard L. Lance, president and
chief executive officer of MDA. "With the new appointments we are
announcing today, in addition to our existing team, I am more
confident than ever in our ability to anticipate and serve the
changing needs of our customers and grow our business in the U. S.,
Canada and around the world."
Effective immediately, the following individuals, who held
leadership positions at either MDA or DigitalGlobe, will now serve
as members of the senior leadership team of Maxar Technologies:
- William McCombe is
appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of
MDA. Mr. McCombe has served as senior vice president and chief
financial officer of SSL MDA Holdings, Inc. since 2016. He joined
MDA in 2014 following a successful career in corporate finance,
mergers and acquisitions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and
Morgan Stanley.
- Anil Wirasekara, previously executive vice president and
chief financial officer of the Company, will continue with the
Company and serve as the senior financial executive based in
Canada, reporting to Mr. Lance,
with a significant portfolio of responsibilities.
- Timothy M. Hascall is
appointed executive vice president and chief operations officer.
Mr. Hascall previously served as executive vice president
responsible for the Imagery business unit at DigitalGlobe,
including operations and customer experience. Previously, he held
leadership positions with TriZetto, an integrated health management
enterprise software and services company, Equitant, a global
finance and accounting business process outsourcing company and
Accenture, a global management and business consulting, technology
and outsourcing firm. Mr. Hascall began his career as an officer in
the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Dr. Walter S. Scott is
appointed executive vice president and chief technology officer.
Dr. Scott is the founder of DigitalGlobe and previously served as
chief technology officer and executive leader of the Platform and
Services businesses for the company. He founded DigitalGlobe in
1992 as WorldView Imaging Corporation, the first company to receive
a high-resolution commercial remote sensing license from the U.S.
Government.
- Daniel Jablonsky is
appointed president of DigitalGlobe. Mr. Jablonsky previously
served as general manager of the U.S. and International Defense and
Intelligence businesses at DigitalGlobe. He concurrently served as
senior vice president and general counsel of the company. He joined
DigitalGlobe in 2012 following a successful career with two leading
corporate law firms focused on mergers and acquisitions,
international joint ventures and securities and corporate finance
matters. Mr. Jablonsky began his career as a surface warfare
officer in the U.S. Navy.
- Tony Frazier is appointed
president of Radiant Solutions, the newly created business unit
formed from the combination of MDA Information Systems and
DigitalGlobe l Radiant. Mr. Frazier was previously senior vice
president and general manager of DigitalGlobe | Radiant. He led the
acquisition of the Radiant Group by DigitalGlobe in November 2016. Mr. Frazier previously led a
variety of product and marketing teams at GeoEye, Cisco Systems,
Infor Global Solutions, IBM and was a consultant at Bain &
Company.
- Bruce Stephenson is
appointed senior vice president and chief strategy and corporate
development officer. Mr. Stephenson previously served as senior
vice president and chief strategy and corporate development officer
of SSL MDA Holdings, Inc. since 2016. Previously, he was a partner
at Bain & Company. Earlier in his career, he served as an
officer in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserve with a focus on
strategic space policy and operations.
- Stephanie Georges is
appointed senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Ms.
Georges previously served as senior vice president at DigitalGlobe
responsible for corporate strategy, communications and marketing.
In her new role, Ms. Georges will be responsible for leading
corporate marketing and communications and the Company's recently
announced plan to rebrand as Maxar Technologies. She joined
DigitalGlobe in 2015, having served in senior leadership roles at
both CenturyLink and Qwest Communications. Previously, Ms. Georges
served as an analyst at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers.
- Marcy Steinke is
appointed senior vice president of government relations and public
policy. Ms. Steinke previously served as senior vice president of
government relations and public policy for DigitalGlobe.
Previously, she served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, director
of congressional legislative affairs for the chairman of the joint
chiefs of staff at the Pentagon and as director of the operations
directorate at the White House.
- Jeff Robertson is
appointed senior vice president and chief Information officer with
responsibilities for deployment and development of information
technology and cybersecurity. Mr. Robertson previously served as
senior vice president and chief information officer for
DigitalGlobe. Previously, he served as chief information officer at
ADT Security Services. Mr. Robertson's prior experience also
includes leadership roles at CNA Financial Services, IBM and
Accenture.
- Michelle Kley is
appointed senior vice president, general counsel and corporate
secretary for the Company. Ms. Kley has served as senior vice
president and chief legal and compliance officer and secretary of
SSL MDA Holdings, Inc. since 2016. Previously, she was vice
president of legal for MDA's SSL business unit. Prior to joining
SSL, she served at several corporate law firms in San Francisco focused on mergers and
acquisitions.
- Andrea Bortner is
appointed senior vice president and chief human resources officer.
Ms. Bortner previously served as senior vice president and chief
human resource officer of SSL MDA Holdings, Inc. Previously, she
held leadership positions at Catalina Marketing, Harris Corporation, The Gap and PepsiCo.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements and
information, which reflect the current view of MDA with respect to
future events, performance and operational capabilities. The
forward-looking statements in this regard include statements as to
management's expectations with respect to future growth and
operational capabilities of the Company and other statements that
are not historical facts.
Although management of the Company believes that the
expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking
statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be
placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can
give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Any
such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to
differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations
expressed in this press release. Additional information concerning
these risk factors can be found in the Company's filings with
Canadian securities regulatory authorities, which are available
online under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com, the Company's
filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission,
or on the Company's website at www.mdacorporation.com, and in
DigitalGlobe's filings with the SEC, including Item 1A of
DigitalGlobe's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2016.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release
are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing
cautionary statements and are based upon data available as of the
date of this release and speak only as of such date. The Company
disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of new
information or future events, except as may be required under
applicable securities legislation.
ABOUT MDA
MDA is a global communications and information company providing
operational solutions to commercial and government organizations
worldwide. MDA's business is focused on markets and customers with
strong repeat business potential, primarily in the Communications
sector and the Surveillance and Intelligence sector. In addition,
the Company conducts a significant amount of advanced technology
development. MDA's established global customer base is served by
more than 4,800 employees operating from 15 locations in
the United States, Canada, and internationally. The Company's
common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol
TSX:MDA. For more information, visit www.mdacorporation.com
ABOUT SSL MDA HOLDINGS, INC.
SSL MDA Holdings, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of
MacDonald, Dettwiler and
Associates Ltd. and serves as the operating company for all MDA
businesses. SSL MDA Holdings is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
ABOUT DIGITALGLOBE
DigitalGlobe is a leading global provider of high-resolution
Earth-imagery products and services sourced from our own advanced
satellite constellation and third-party providers. Our imagery
solutions support a wide variety of users in defense and
intelligence, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental
monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management,
Internet portals, and navigation technology. Each day users depend
on us to better understand our changing planet in order to save
lives, resources and time.
CONTACTS
Investor relations: Marissa
Poratto, MDA, (604) 331-2044, mporatto@mdalimited.ca
Media relations (Canada):
Wendy Keyzer, MDA, (604) 231-2743,
wendy@mdacorporation.com
Media relations (United
States): Sheila Ennis,
Abernathy MacGregor, (415) 926-7961,
sbe@abmac.com
SOURCE MacDonald, Dettwiler and
Associates Ltd.