ABS CEO Tom Choi steps down, Jim Frownfelter becomes interim CEO
Tom Choi is leaving his position as CEO of AB Satellite (ABS), a satellite fleet operator he co-founded in 2005.
ABS current chairman Jim Frownfelter will become interim CEO, the company announced in a statement released Monday. According to ABS, Choi “is transitioning his role to a board director so that he can pursue other interests and opportunities” but will remain a significant investor in the business.
"It was an incredible experience and a wonderful time. ABS is one of the very few privately owned companies that became a global satellite operator with customers and operations on every continent. Our start buying existing in-orbit satellites, raising over $200 million in condosat financing to build ABS-2 and then building the all-electric satellites which were dual-stacked (ABS-2A and ABS-3A) on a Faclon-9, highlights just some of the our achievements over the years,” Choi said.
“I wish to thank our customers, partners, vendors, employees and investors as I move on to other interesting projects and I look forward to serving the ABS team in my directorship role.”
Commenting on the announcement, Frownfelter said, "I would like to thank Tom for his immense hard work in getting ABS to where it is today. Tom co-founded the company in 2005, successfully built it to become a major global player and has been widely acknowledged in the industry for his pioneering achievements. ABS executive committee supports Tom’s decision and values the continued access to his expert counsel and insights that will continue to support the firm into the future.”
ABS said the company has commenced a search for Choi’s replacement and intended to make an announcement in the near future.
Cisco appoints Mark Phibbs to drive brand transformation across APJ
Cisco has appointed Mark Phibbs (pictured) as vice president of marketing and communications for Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ).
In this new role, Phibbs is responsible for the Cisco marketing team across 18 countries in the region.
Phibbs brings to the table with more than 25 years of international experience in the IT industry. Prior to joining Cisco, Phibbs was VP of marketing for EMEA at Adobe, where he played an integral role in helping Adobe move to Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud-based solutions.
Before that, he had also held various marketing and leadership roles across Europe, Middle East and Africa and APJ at leading ICT firms including IBM and Microsoft.