ViaSat Announces Addition of Ken Peterman as General Manager, Government Systems

May 6, 2013

ViaSat Inc. has named Ken Peterman as General Manager of its Government Systems segment. Before joining ViaSat, Mr. Peterman was president and CEO of SpyGlass Group, a provider of executive strategic advisory services to the defense, aerospace, and associated communities.

Mr. Peterman has over 30 years of experience in systems engineering, strategic planning, portfolio management, and business leadership in the defense and aerospace market. Prior to founding the SpyGlass Group in July 2012, he was president of ITT Communications and Force Protection Systems where his tenure began in 2007 and included the spin-off of the defense business out of ITT Corporation into Exelis in 2011. Before joining ITT, Mr. Peterman was vice president and general manager of Rockwell Collins Government System's Integrated C3 Systems business and, prior to that Rockwell Collins Displays and Awareness Systems business. He earned a B.S.E.E. degree from Tri-State University (now Trine).

Mr. Peterman joins a Government Systems segment that is gaining momentum, with nearly $100 million in year-over-year revenue growth for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2013. Sustained demand for bandwidth and higher-speed services and systems from the U.S. Department of Defense, public safety first-responders, security forces, and remote government employees continues to drive growth in the division.

To address the need for executive leadership in another growing business area, Steve Estes , general manager of Government Systems prior to this appointment, has been named to lead the emerging Enterprise Services business at ViaSat. Mr. Estes' expertise in strategy, planning, and organizing for effective execution will be applied to this business area, which includes satellite newsgathering, commercial air, live events, and emergency responder communications.

"This is a great opportunity to increase the depth of our team with an accomplished leader in the defense industry," said Rick Baldridge , president and COO of ViaSat. "Ken brings a wealth of successful experience in the government communication systems area and is a great fit culturally. Steve Estes has been doing a great job running the government business and will attack his new position with the same level of focus."