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Iridium Holdings LLC Announces Management Succession

Posted on: Thursday, 2 October 2003, 06:00 CDT

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Holdings LLC, holding company for global satellite communications company Iridium Satellite LLC, today announced that Dan Colussy will retire as chairman of the board. Mr. Colussy, who shepherded the company from its founding in December 2000 through to financial break-even, will continue his association with Iridium as an Investor and member of the board of directors with the title of chairman emeritus. Carmen Lloyd, who until recently served as president and chief executive officer of Stratos Global Corporation , a major provider of satellite communications services worldwide, has been named as chairman and chief executive officer of Iridium Holdings LLC and its wholly- owned operating subsidiary, Iridium Satellite LLC, effective immediately. Gino Picasso will continue in his position as president of Iridium Satellite LLC.

In December 2000, Colussy and a small group of investors founded Iridium Satellite LLC by acquiring the assets of Iridium LLC out of bankruptcy. Under Colussy's leadership, the new company launched service four months later and has since grown into a leader in the Mobile Satellite Systems (MSS) marketplace, providing voice and data services to commercial, government and individual users worldwide. Today's changes reflect an orderly management transition for Iridium Satellite as it moves into a new phase of growth and opportunity now that the company has achieved an operating cash flow positive status.

"Since launching this venture over three years ago, we have set up a distribution system and rolled out service globally; secured major contracts with both commercial and government customers; launched spare satellites and significantly lengthened the working life of the constellation," according to Colussy. "Now that we have reached the critical milestone of cash flow positive operations, the time has come to turn over this position to Carmen Lloyd, an experienced satellite communications executive who will provide the leadership for Iridium as it enters the next phase of its development and continues its dramatic growth in new services and new user applications. Throughout my tenure as Chairman, I have been grateful for the financial and moral support of the Iridium investors and the tremendous work of its employees and management team who have made this success story possible."

Lloyd brings more than 15 years of leadership experience with multinational corporations including Rolls Royce plc, Canadian Marconi Company, Pratt and Whitney Canada and Westinghouse Canada. In his most recent position as CEO of Stratos Global, Lloyd helped the publicly-traded company triple its revenues over a three-year period while also raising significant capital.

"I am very pleased to be joining Iridium Satellite and am looking forward to working with the investor group and management to continue the growth and profitability momentum that is underway. As CEO of Stratos Global, which is Iridium's largest commercial customer, I have worked specifically in Iridium's market place and have had the unique opportunity to see the enormous potential of the Iridium System. I am very encouraged by the Company's future growth opportunities."

In a statement Gino Picasso said: "I have enjoyed working with Dan Colussy over the past two and a half years and now look forward to working with Carmen Lloyd as Iridium's new Chairman as we enter a new phase in the company's development. He brings an excellent executive background and specific experience in Iridium's marketplace and will make a great contribution to the company's future success."

About Iridium Satellite LLC

Iridium Satellite LLC is the only provider of truly global satellite voice and data solutions with complete coverage of the earth (including oceans, airways and Polar Regions). Through a constellation of 66 low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites operated by The Boeing Company, Iridium delivers essential communications services to and from remote areas where no other form of communication is available. The service is ideally suited for industries such as maritime, aviation, government/military, emergency/humanitarian services, mining, forestry, oil & gas and heavy construction. Iridium currently provides service to the U.S. Department of Defense under a multi-year contract. Iridium works with more than 30 seasoned service partners to sell and support the service globally. For more information, please visit http://www.iridium.com/ or call 866-947-4348 (in the U.S.); +1-480-752-5155 (internationally). For more information: http://www.iridium.com/.

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