(April 17, 2018 – New York City) - Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) announced today that it will relocate its Future Leaders Dinner, launched initially and held in New York City since 2006, to Silicon Valley in partnership with SatNews Publishers.  The 2018 Dinner will take place on October 9 at the Satellite Innovation Symposium, held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.  Launched in 2017, the Symposium has gained immediate recognition as a “go-to” event for the space and satellite industry.

The Future Leaders Dinner honors three recipients for outstanding achievement by space and satellite professionals age 35 or under.  SSPI’s “Promise Awards” are given to professionals in a range of business, including mature and established satellite operators, aerospace contractors, professional services firms, as well as successful innovators like SpaceX and Planet.  Start-ups with developing new technologies and business models are also included.  In addition, SSPI also honors a Mentor of the Year for helping to nurture the careers of the next generation and for setting an inspired example for the entire industry to follow. 

11 of the last 15 Promise Award recipients have been awarded to women executives.  (https://www.sspi.org/cpages/promise-mentor-awards)

“The Future Leaders Dinner was launched during SATCON, the New York satellite conference that became NAB New York,” said SSPI executive director Robert Bell.  “We appreciated the partnerships with both organizations and are looking forward to our partnership with SatNews Publishers, with whom we had a long-time relationship at the Future Leaders Dinner in New York.”

Bell noted that the center of gravity of innovation in the space and satellite sector is shifting westward, and that SSPI is moving with it.  “We are excited to partner with SatNews, one of the leading publishers in our industry and an important innovator in smallsat and space commercialization conferences.”

Silvano Payne, CEO at SatNews Publishers stated, “Silicon Valley is recognized internationally for its progressive and innovative culture and we are thrilled that SSPI has moved its Future Leaders Dinner here.”

The Promise and Mentor Awards will open for nominations on April 30 and close on July 31.  Winners will be announced on September 11.  The nomination form will be available at www.satfuture.com. 

About the Satellite Innovation Symposium
Satellite Innovation 2018 features a dynamic group of over 100 speakers who will be participating in a series of panels, workshops, focused presentations and keynotes designed to address exciting innovations and the forces that will guide their implementation. Rather than recounting industry trends or focusing myopically on NewSpace, the Satellite Innovation conference is designed to provide a bigger picture of how new technologies are influencing SatCom businesses, and how organizations can optimally utilize these developments.

About SSPI
Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to emake the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. With more than 3,700 members in 40 nations, it is the largest space and satellite industry association in the world. It delivers on its mission through programs that promote space and satellite as the invisible but indispensable infrastructure of the modern world, and that help turn individual promise into careers filled with purpose through research, career education for young people, management education for working professionals and talent recognition that spans the industry. Its Better Satellite World campaign (www.bettersatelliteworld.com) has received accolades worldwide for bringing the human dimension forward in this highly technical industry.
 

Contact
Tamara Bond-Williams
Membership Director
212-809-5199 x103
tbond-williams@sspi.org