Technology >> CEO Interviews >> January 10, 2000
MARK D. DANKBERG co-founded ViaSat, Inc. in 1986 and has led the company
to 13 consecutive years of revenue growth. He now holds the position of
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of ViaSat. The firm was on the
Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held companies three
times prior to going public in 1996 and is now listed on NASDAQ under
VSAT. Since then the company has twice been named on the Forbes list of
200 fastest growing small companies. After earning his BS and Masters
degrees in electrical engineering at Rice University, he began his
career at the Collins Radio Division of Rockwell International as a
systems engineer. Prior to co-founding ViaSat, Mr. Dankberg was a vice
president at M/A-Com Linkabit in San Diego where he managed a business
area in satellite networking and digital cvoice communications. He
helped establish Linkabit's VSAT business, which, along with other M/A-
Com divisions, became Hughes Network Systems. Mr. Dankberg has authored
numerous technical papers, and influenced the development of several
satellite communication standards including Demand Assigned Multiple
Access (DAMA) networking, jam resistant satellite links and satellite
messaging systems. He is now involved in developing potential new
standards for domestic and international satellite telephony and
broadband data networks. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the
San Diego Telecom Council and is a member of the San Diego County
Regional Economic Task Force. Profile
what do you see as the business and company today.
Mr. Dankberg: ViaSat is about 13 1/2-years-old. We were founded in
