Telecommunications 2024: DAVID WAJSGRAS

Wajsgras was named CEO of Intelsat in April 2022, shortly after the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and financial restructuring. Merger discussions between Intelsat and competitor SES stalled in 2023, but in April, the McLean-based satellite-services provider announced an agreement where it will be acquired by its Luxembourg-based competitor for $3.1 billion. The combined companies will be headquartered in Luxembourg, but are expected to retain a strong national presence.

While Wajsgras has agreed to stay on until the deal closes, expected in the second half of 2025, he said he expects to end his tenure at Intelsat once the acquisition is complete. He previously spent 14 years at Raytheon (now RTX).

Before the acquisition was announced, Wajsgras spoke at the Satellite 2024 conference in March about Intelsat’s interest in the satellite-to-cell market, as well as the possibility of investing in a medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation.   

Wajsgras is a graduate of the University of Maryland and earned his MBA from American University. He serves on the boards for Parsons and Martin Marietta Materials. He is a seven-time honoree on Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 list.