Lynk shakes up leadership again with new CEO, CFO

Satellite-direct-to-device provider Lynk Global today announced the appointments of Ramu Potorazu as CEO and Steven Fay as CFO to lead Lynk’s efforts to become a publicly listed company in the wake of a recent partnership with Slam, a special-purpose acquisition company led by former baseball star Alex Rodriguez.

Potorazu has satellite-industry experience, having served as president and COO of Intelsat through 2006. Since then, he has been the CEO of four different companies “in venture-backed technology and content companies,” according to a Lynk press release about the announcements.

“I believe Lynk’s patented technology has redefined the future of the satellite and telecommunications industries by developing proprietary satellite technologies, connectivity capabilities and seamless solutions that can connect everyone, everywhere,” Potarazu said in a prepared statement. “From 2G, to 5G and to the next frontier, the goal is for Lynk to be at the forefront of satellite-to-device technology. We believe Lynk is well-positioned, with a solid foundation with 45 commercial contracts to provide coverage in approximately 50 countries as of today.

“I am excited to partner with Lynk’s talented team, dedicated Board, and global customers to lead the Company through this important growth phase. Together, we will seek to capitalize on the $1 trillion mobile wireless market and fulfill our mission to eliminate connectivity gaps for people around the world.”

Fay has spent the last 10 years as a founding executive member and deputy CFO of OneWeb, which uses low-Earth-orbit satellites to provide backhaul connectivity at broadband-like data rates. Prior to his time at OneWeb, Fay worked at Google and SiriusXM, according to the Lynk press release.

“I am thrilled to join Lynk and further the Company’s efforts to deliver innovative and responsive communications solutions across the public and private sectors,” Fay said in a prepared statement. “We see a clear path to organize our financial functions for execution, scale and, eventually, profitability. We are focused on accessing the requisite capital to achieve both near-term and long-term strategic initiatives.

“I am in lockstep with Ramu and the management team in our pursuits to strengthen our commercial efforts and further establish Lynk as a global leader for direct-to-device satellite communications.”

With his appointment as CEO, Potarazu succeeds Dan Dooley, who was named as Lynk CEO less than two months ago in an announcement that he would succeed former CEO and co-founder Charles Miller, who was named as chairman of Lynk’s board of directors at the time. Dooley will return to his role as the company’s chief commercial officer—the job he held prior to his stint as CEO.

Today’s Lynk press release described Dooley as the company’s “interim CEO,” but no interim label was mentioned in the September press release when Dooley was named CEO. In fact, Miller was quoted in that September press release as stating that ” Dan (Dooley) is the right person to take Lynk into the next phase. I am thrilled to support Lynk and Dan in a transition to scale the company to new heights.”

Miller was not mentioned in today’s Lynk press release about the company’s executive changes, but Miller posted on his LinkedIn account that he is “totally jazzed” by the additions of Potarazu and Fay.

Lynk co-founder and longtime COO Margo Deckard was not mentioned in today’s Lynk press release. A spokesperson for Lynk informed IWCE’s Urgent Communications via e-mail that “Lynk has not announced any updates or changes to Margo Deckard’s role as COO.”

Lynk made its relationship with Slam public in a February announcement. Slam Corp. is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) established by baseball legend Alex Rodriguez—who serves as the chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp.—and Himanshu Gulati, who is the founder, managing partner and chief investment officer of Antara Capital LP, according to the Lynk press release in September.

Upon the closing of the business combination, the new combined company will be named Lynk Global Holdings, Inc. and is expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LYNK,” according to the Lynk press release in September.

“Lynk seeks to connect the world by extending cell coverage everywhere,” Rodriguez said in Lynk’s February press release. “We are thrilled to announce this business combination agreement, which positions the combined company to capitalize on the massive, $1 trillion mobile wireless market as Lynk solves a core problem for the more than five billion cell phone users around the globe today. The combined company is set to deliver Lynk’s innovative, patented technology to areas that need it most and connect the more than two billion unconnected people worldwide.”