PanAmSat Names Jack A. Shaw, HUGHES CEO, as Chairman of the Board of Directors; Eddy W. Hartenstein and Michael Gaines Elected to Board of Directors

Business Wire, June 12, 2001

Business Editors

GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2001

PanAmSat Corporation (NASDAQ: SPOT) today announced that Jack A. Shaw, chief executive officer of Hughes Electronics Corporation, has been appointed to serve as chairman of the board of PanAmSat.

Mr. Shaw succeeds Michael T. Smith, who retired as HUGHES chairman and chief executive officer two weeks ago. PanAmSat also announced that Eddy W. Hartenstein and Michael J. Gaines, both from HUGHES, were appointed to the company's board.

Mr. Shaw has been a member of PanAmSat's board since January 2000 while he was senior executive vice president in charge of HUGHES Enterprise Sector, which includes Hughes Network Systems (HNS) and PanAmSat. Mr. Shaw was president and CEO of M/A-COM Telecommunications in 1987 when the company was acquired by HUGHES and renamed Hughes Network Systems (HNS). Serving in a series of management positions, including chairman and CEO, he led HNS to its current position as the world leader in private business networks, incorporating very small aperture terminal systems (VSAT).

Mr. Hartenstein is corporate senior executive vice president of HUGHES Consumer Sector and a member of the Hughes Electronics Executive and Management Committees. In this position, he is responsible for the operations of Hughes DIRECTV U.S. and DIRECTV Latin America operations. Prior to this position, Mr. Hartenstein was president of DIRECTV, Inc. from 1990 through 2000. From 1987 through 1990, he created and headed the Ku-band Services business unit of Hughes Communications, Inc., which merged with PanAmSat in 1997.

Mr. Gaines is corporate vice president, finance, and treasurer of HUGHES. He is responsible for all treasury functions for the corporation, as well as other finance-related activities in support of the chief financial officer. Since joining HUGHES in 1991, Mr. Gaines has held a number of financial management positions, including division controller, director of accounting and assistant corporate controller. In 1997, he became vice president, controller and chief accounting officer of HUGHES. Prior to joining HUGHES, Mr. Gaines was a manager at Deloitte & Touche, supervising audit services to a number of major corporations.

Mr. Hartenstein and Mr. Gaines were appointed to PanAmSat's board to fill vacancies created by the departure of former HUGHES executives. They join Mr. Shaw and Roxanne Austin, HUGHES corporate senior vice president and chief financial officer, as current HUGHES executives on PanAmSat's board.

PanAmSat's board also includes R. Douglas Kahn, president and CEO, PanAmSat Corporation; Patrick J. Costello, chief financial officer, Northway Management Company, LLC; Dennis Hightower, retired business executive, formerly CEO of Europe Online Network S.A.; James M. Hoak, chairman, Hoak Capital Corporation; Stephen R. Kahn, Managing Director, Advent International Corporation; and Joseph R. Wright, Jr., vice chairman, Terremark Worldwide, Inc.

About PanAmSat

PanAmSat Corporation is the premier provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite. Operating a global network of 21 in-orbit spacecraft and seven technical facilities, the company delivers entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home TV operators, Internet service providers, telecommunications companies and corporations worldwide. PanAmSat plans to expand its global fleet to 22 spacecraft by year-end 2001. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by Hughes Electronics Corporation. For more information on PanAmSat, visit the company's web site at www.panamsat.com.

About HUGHES

HUGHES is a world-leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband services, satellite-based private business networks, and global video and data broadcasting. HUGHES is a unit of General Motors Corporation. The earnings of HUGHES are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE: GMH).