Globalstar Announces Senior Operating Team Organization; Anthony J. Navarra Named President - Company Operations

Cambridge Telcom Report, Sept 13, 1999

Globalstar has announced the organization of its senior operating team, marking its transition from a development company to a global telecommunications company on the verge of initiating service.

Effective September 1, 1999, Anthony J. Navarra, who was serving as acting chief operating officer, has been named president of Globalstar. Gloria Everett, senior vice president of operations, and Joel Schindall, senior vice president and chief engineer, have been given expanded responsibilities. Megan Fitzgerald has been promoted to senior vice president of space operations. She had been vice president, space systems engineering. The team also includes Gerard Canavan, senior vice president of marketing.

"These executives have applied their individual and collective talents and experience to making Globalstar a reality -- a full-fledged global telephone company," said Bernard L. Schwartz, Globalstar chairman and chief executive officer. "They are well-suited to leading Globalstar and managing our operations throughout the world. Augmenting their efforts are scores of Globalstar employees, many of them recruited from the telephone industry, who bring the capabilities we need to manage the Globalstar telephone system."

Anthony J. Navarra, who joined Globalstar in 1991, has been responsible for the development and implementation of Globalstar's marketing strategy and for the creation of business partnerships with service providers around the world. Before joining Globalstar, he was both the engineering and marketing vice president at the Rolm Mil-Spec Computers division of Loral Corporation, where he was responsible for managing the product development of military computers, high-speed mass storage devices and satellite communications processors. From 1984 to 1987, Mr. Navarra worked for TRW as business area director of Milstar satellite and terminal technologies.

Prior to that, Mr. Navarra worked for Magnavox Research Laboratories and Government Electronics Company in developing, fielding and operating CDMA spread spectrum terminals on various DoD platforms. Mr. Navarra holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from the University of San Francisco and master of science degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. He gained post-degree work experience in the theory of satellite communications while attending the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Ft. Monmouth, N. J. Mr. Navarra has continued post-graduate work at Stanford University in business and management.

Gloria Everett is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Globalstar communications and network system and to assure its quality of service to the franchise and local service providers. In the near term, Ms. Everett's responsibilities continue to be the testing of gateways, phones and system integrity to assure worldwide operations and maintenance of the Globalstar data network. Ms. Everett was previously employed for 31 years by AirTouch Communications and its predecessor company, Pacific Bell. At AirTouch, she most recently served as vice president, network engineering and operations. In this position she was responsible for the planning, deployment, systems engineering, vendor selection, and technical management of AirTouch's analog and digital cellular telecommunications networks. Prior to this, she served as executive director of technology development, responsible for the development and introduction of new technology into AirTouch business units, including AirTouch Cellular, AirTouch Paging, AirTouch International and the international consortia in Europe and the Far East. Ms. Everett received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of California.

Joel Schindall is responsible for the gateway and phone development and production engineering support. His responsibilities have been expanded to encompass the overall engineering integrity of the Globalstar system, as well as identifying future system applications and technologies. Dr. Schindall transferred into Globalstar in May 1994 as vice president of system applications. In addition to exploring a variety of potential system applications, Dr. Schindall helps facilitate technical and program coordination between Globalstar and Qualcomm. He also provides technical inputs, program support and customer liaison. From 1985 to 1994, Dr. Schindall was president of Loral Conic, a Loral division in San Diego, Calif., that designed and manufactured rugged telemetry equipment used in flight testing of missiles and spacecraft.

Dr. Schindall held a variety of positions at Watkins-Johnson Company in Palo Alto, Calif., and his work over these years included invention of several unique products, a direct role in conceiving and developing an entire family of advanced computer-controlled microwave receivers, and a key role in division staffing and leadership. Dr. Schindall received his bachelor's and master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.