PanAmSat Corporation will increase its focus on the fast growing India satellite communications market with the appointment of Narasimhachari Sampath, a veteran of the Indian space industry with nearly three decades of experience, to the newly created position of managing director, India.
From PanAmSat's new sales office in Mumbai (Bombay), Mr. Sampath will lead the company's efforts in India and its campaign to expand its presence throughout the country.
Expansion into India is one of PanAmSat's major strategic initiatives for 2001. In addition to this major market, PanAmSat has been successful in opening up Mexico in mid-August, and in early July it received a license to sell services on PAS-1R in Brazil.
In his new position, Mr. Sampath will be responsible for introducing PanAmSat's premier satellite services to broadcast, cable, Internet and telecommunications customers throughout the Indian market. These offerings include the company's global program distribution, direct-to-home, Internet backbone access, business communications and data services as well as special event and ad hoc services. He will report to Ashley Fernandes, PanAmSat's vice president, Pacific Ocean Region.
"Mr. Sampath brings to PanAmSat an inimitable understanding of the Indian market and regulatory environment, developed and refined during his nearly 30-year career at the Indian Space Research Organization," said Mr. Fernandes. "India has long been identified as a key market in PanAmSat's drive for growth. With, Mr. Sampath on board and the opening of our new sales office in Mumbai, we have made substantial step toward unlocking the potential of the Indian market."
Mr. Sampath began his career as a project engineer in the country's fledgling Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1972 and successfully implemented several ISRO application projects. He then progressed in the organization to take responsibility for space systems applications planning. In addition, Mr. Sampath actively contributed toward management of the payloads development for all Indian satellites and the ground segment to user requirements.
For the last 13 years, Mr. Sampath had been charged with the task of commercializing technologies. His efforts resulted in the creation of several commercial companies involved in space equipment manufacture. In 1992, Mr. Sampath lead the creation Antrix, a wholly owned subsidiary of ISRO that was designed to take advantage of business opportunities in the global market arising out of developments at ISRO.
Antrix provides a range of commercial services including satellites construction, launch services, earth observations, telecommunications and consultation. Mr. Sampath has led the growth of this company from its inception and has delivered an annual growth rate of over 200 percent over the last few years with estimated orders of over $100 million in 2001.
