Comtech Announces Leadership
Transition
October 4, 2021
Comtech Telecommunications
Corp. announced today that its President and Chief
Operating Officer Michael Porcelain will become
Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Fred Kornberg,
by the end of calendar 2021. Mr. Porcelain will also
continue as President of Comtech and join its Board
of Directors. It is anticipated that Mr. Kornberg
will become an advisor to the Company on technology
matters and continue as a director and a
non-executive Chairman of the Board.
As a senior technology advisor
to the Company, Mr. Kornberg would assist with the
leadership transition and provide the executive team
counsel based on his deep technical expertise.
This change completes the
Company’s CEO succession plan process initiated by
the Board of Directors with its appointment of Mr.
Porcelain as Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and
President in 2020. Mr. Porcelain previously served
as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer for more
than 12 years and, prior to that, served as
Comtech’s Vice President of Finance and Internal
Audit from 2002 to 2006. Before joining Comtech, he
was Director of Corporate Profit and Business
Planning for Symbol Technologies (which was
subsequently acquired by Motorola) and also served
as a Manager in the Transaction Advisory Services
Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers where he specialized
in providing consulting services to both large and
small technology companies.
The Board of Directors said:
“We want to thank Fred for his outstanding
leadership, countless contributions and unwavering
commitment to Comtech throughout his distinguished
career. When Fred first took on the role of CEO of
Comtech, the Company had less than $20.0 million of
revenue and approximately $1.0 million of net
income. Today, Comtech is a global leader in its
markets, provides innovative solutions to support
critical communication systems, and has over 2,000
employees around the world. As we look to the next
chapter in Comtech’s history, we want to express our
enthusiastic confidence in the future of the company
under Mike’s leadership.”
“Mike has been instrumental in
the development and execution of our business
strategies, leading our day-to-day operations and
driving substantial shareholder value creation
across all facets of the Company. In the past
several years, Mike spearheaded the expansion of
both our Next-Generation 911 and satellite earth
station product lines, including the transformative
acquisitions of Solacom Technologies Inc., a
best-in-class 911 call handling software solution,
CGC Technology Limited, a leading provider of Low
Earth Orbit (“LEO”) satellite tracking antennas and
UHP Networks, a leading provider of disruptive
satellite ground station technology. During fiscal
2021, he oversaw the Company’s efforts to secure
over $200 million of Next-Generation 911 contract
wins as well as a strategic multi-year contract
award to customize our next-generation broadband
satellite technology for use with the thousands of
LEO satellites to be launched over the next several
years. Mike is highly valued for his exceptional
management skills, technical acumen, and
understanding of our business and markets, and we
are confident in his ability to lead Comtech’s next
phase of growth and profitability.”
Mr. Kornberg said: “For more
than 40 years, I have had the privilege of leading
Comtech as we built a global business. I am deeply
grateful for the support of our investors over the
years and for the steadfast dedication and
commitment of our world class employees.”
Mr. Porcelain said, “I am
honored to become CEO of Comtech. Under Fred’s
leadership, we successfully expanded our core
capabilities and positioned Comtech to respond more
quickly to market dynamics. I believe we are
extremely well positioned to extend our competitive
advantages and enhance value for all stakeholders. I
look forward to continuing to work with the Board,
management, and the entire Comtech team to implement
a range of important initiatives already underway
and carry our strong momentum forward.”