Comtech recently made an exciting announcement, appointing John Ratigan as the company’s first Chief Corporate Development Officer (CCDO).
Over the past 12 months, Ken Peterman and the Comtech leadership team entered into the first chapter of the One Comtech transformation to position the company to better capture the massive opportunities emerging as our markets undergo a major secular shift. Part of the One Comtech journey includes bringing in the right talent and leadership to champion these efforts. In his role as CCDO, John is the latest strategic leadership hire to help us realize the full potential of One Comtech and our expertise as an end-to-end solutions provider to address the variety of communications, connectivity and interoperability challenges our clients face both today, and tomorrow.
John has a storied background in satellite communications, including a previous stint at Comtech (then EF DATA) during which the company experienced another significant phase of growth where he was critical in helping the company grow revenue from $20 million/year to over $120 million/year.
As he thought about Comtech’s current opportunities, John recognized Comtech was undertaking another exciting transformation, and the similarities excited him: the right people in place to lead and execute, and the right market opportunities coming into focus that Comtech was uniquely positioned to capitalize on.
The positive turns Comtech has made were already obvious, such as the tremendous strides streamlining the company under One Comtech and doing the right things to return to profitability. It was these key drivers that influenced his decision to return to the company and take the already proven people and technology to the next level.
As CCDO, John will be instrumental in identifying and optimizing the market shifts currently underway. Activity and interest within the satellite communications industry is only escalating with new Low Earth Orbit (LEO) providers and many other Geostationary Orbit (GEO), Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) organizations dedicating more budget to modernize their infrastructures. As communications become more hyper-connected, and the requirements for greater anywhere, anytime connectivity becomes standard, the need for Comtech’s breadth of solutions and services will also continue to grow. As the market changes, so will Comtech.
In his role, John will hold multi-dimensional responsibilities across the company. At 30,000 feet, he is focused on maximizing our core value while also pulling resources from across our unified enterprise to deliver new comprehensive, integrated solutions and services that have the potential to transform the industry. To get there, this will include developing new technologies under EVOKE, closing technology gaps and identifying new capabilities and technologies to add to the Comtech portfolio – inclusive of acquisition targets and strategic partnerships. Given John’s deep industry background and experience, he is a natural fit to help Comtech and the leadership team significantly grow its opportunity set and revenue profile.
John brings a wealth of experience to the table, complimenting his previous time at Comtech. Our official press release provides a detailed look at his background and underscores why he is such a natural fit to join our leadership team. By filling the Corporate Development role with someone with as much sales, operating, technology and growth experience as John, the company is accelerating its ability to develop solutions for the big changes coming to our end markets–helping frame a new insight-driven layer into the business that’s as much about driving customer outcomes as it is providing technology. With John onboard, we’re also adding an executive who understands how to build businesses efficiently and profitably – and one who also knows Comtech’s roots.
When we spoke with John, we think he summed up his ambitions for going forward perfectly:
“I’ve been a part of two very successful growth ventures in EF DATA (now Comtech) and iDirect and I want to make this my third, and I don’t want to take five years to do it,” said John. “We are going to make things happen fast and we hope that all of our efforts will merit the support of our very valuable employees and our current and future customer bases.”
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information in this blog post contains statements that are forward-looking in nature and involve certain significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and performance could differ materially from such forward-looking information. The Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings identify many such risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking information in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the risks and uncertainties described in such Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
