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Browne named Telesat CFO

December 13, 2019

Telesat, the Canadian satellite company, has appointed Andrew Browne as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Reporting to President and CEO, Dan Goldberg, Browne will serve on Telesat’s Executive Management Team and be based in the company’s headquarters in Ottawa.

Browne was most recently the CFO of SES, a position he held since February 12th 2018. Prior to that, he was CFO of O3b Networks where he was involved in introducing the first Medium Earth Orbit satellite constellation to users in the global Maritime, Energy, Enterprise and Government service verticals. Prior to joining O3b, Browne was CFO and member of the management board at SES from 2010.

“I am delighted to have Andrew join the team at Telesat and to have the opportunity to work closely with him again,” said Goldberg. “His vast financial experience in the satellite industry is without equal and Telesat will benefit immensely from that going forward, including in connection with the development of our revolutionary Low Earth Orbit satellite constellation. Having worked closely with Andrew for many years prior to my joining Telesat, I have great confidence that he will contribute significantly to the company’s success.”

“I am very pleased by the opportunity to work with Dan again and to join Telesat’s talented leadership team at this exciting time in the industry and Telesat’s evolution,” added Browne. “Telesat has been a leader in the satellite services market for the last half century. With its long history of strong financial performance, unsurpassed record of innovation, devotion to superior customer service, and exciting growth initiatives, Telesat is extraordinarily well-positioned for continued success as the satellite industry enters its next chapter.”

Browne will replace Michel Cayouette, who announced in May of this year that he would be retiring from the company after having served as Telesat’s CFO since 2008.

Coincidentally, adds Chris Forrester, Telesat confirmed on December 11th that it had secured a new $1.91 billion loan plus $200 million revolving credit facility. Telesat is planning to build about 300 new Low Earth orbiting satellites.

Investment bank Exane/BNPP, in a note on December 13th to investors, said: “Given that Telesat’s growth strategy relies on developing a LEO broadband constellation, we believe that Browne’s appointment reflects his successful tenure as CFO of O3B Networks (2010-2018). However, Browne’s decision to leave SES and to join Telesat will probably raise some question marks on SES strategy and numbers. SES has yet to announce [its] new CFO. We continue to expect SES to deliver on its FY19 guidance, believe it is best-in-class in Networks and that it is to benefit from C-band monetisation.”

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