Executive Management Team 

Michael Hewins – Chief operating Officer

Michael Hewins has over 30 years executive management experience in the global space industry. Michael was the Chairman and CEO of AstroVision International, Inc., before taking the helm of AstroVision Australia. He received his law degree from Suffolk University and has worked on global strategy, business development and insurance matters for the space industry with AON, Willis Corroon Inspace, Johnson & Higgins, INTEC and Arianespace.

Michael joined NewSat in September 2011, providing extensive experience and leadership across the breadth of NewSat’s business from strategy to operations and productivity. Michael's process-minded approach and vast satellite industry experience will deliver measurable, cost-effective results to drive the realisation of NewSat's vision of becoming a leading global satellite operator.

David Ball – chief Technology officer

David Ball has 25 years of experience in the telecommunications, media and technology sectors with a significant portion of his career specialising in satellite communications. David has held senior positions encompassing sales team management, product development, engineering and space systems development. Prior to joining NewSat, David was the Regional Vice President Asia-Pacific for Intelsat and also held that position for PanAmSat prior to the merger between PanAmSat and Intelsat in 2006. More recently, David was the Managing Director for Intelsat Broadband Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Intelsat Corporation.

David holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree (Communications Engineering) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Deakin University.   Prior to joining PanAmSat in 1995, David served as a commissioned officer in the Royal Australian Air Force specialising in communications systems management.

David joined NewSat in April 2010 and has been instrumental in the strategy and development of the Jabiru Satellite Program's first satellite Jabiru-1, which will deliver high-powered Ka-band coverage across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Adam Shapiro – Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary

Adam Shapiro has a background in finance spanning over a decade that includes working for professional service firms PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP in Boston, USA and Ernst & Young in Melbourne, Australia. Joining NewSat in May 2007, Adam has instilled new financial practices and disciplines into the business and worked closely with the CEO, Board and the executive management team in fine tuning the Company’s business model, the key business performance metrics, forecasting and the long term business plan. Adam was appointed Company Secretary on 7 May 2007. He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Miami (Florida) and has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for the past 12 years.

William Abbott – Corporate Counsel

William Abbott has been a solicitor for over 40 years practising in New South Wales and Victoria in the field of commercial law. Over the last 30 years William’s main focus has been in the corporate field, both as a lawyer and company director. William is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has extensive experience as a lawyer in company and commercial structuring, both in Australia and overseas, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, corporate and commercial financing, corporate governance and compliance and enforcement. William has acted for and advised NewSat Limited as its solicitor for many years and acted for the company on the acquisition of the Teleports in Adelaide and Perth. William joined NewSat as Corporate Counsel in November 2010 and is also a Consultant to HWLEbsworth.

Len McGoldrick – Vice President Engineering and Operations

Len McGoldrick has a 35 year work history in Scotland and Australia, specialising in satellite communications for 25 years of that period. During his career, Len has worked for British Telecom International (BTI), AAPT Sat-Tel and Newskies in various project management positions commissioning satellite networks and supporting multiple special earth station projects throughout Europe and the Middle East over two decades. Len was appointed as VP of Engineering and Operations in July 2008 and has been integral to the growth in business and high levels of customer satisfaction in both the Perth and Adelaide Teleports.

Mike Kenneally – vice president SATELLITE STRATEGY

Mike Kenneally has over 30 years global ICT and satellite experience, including managing large national and international ICT and satellite projects in several countries. During his career, Mike has worked or acted as a consultant for the Department of Defence, IBM, the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles County, General Electric, Fujitsu Europe, Telstar, Lockheed Martin, Telstra, Optus and Telecom NZ. Mike was technical auditor for the first spatial census of Australia in 1996 and solution architect for the winning bid for the Australian defence spatial system. Mike was also the founding Director of Australian Private Networks in 2001.

Mike joined NewSat in 2006, fulfilling senior roles in sales, product development and business development and has been an instrumental member in helping NewSat build its business model the last few years.

Andrew Matlock – Vice President Sales

Andrew Matlock has a work history spanning 25 years across telecommunications and technology sectors, much of it dedicated to building successful business teams and creating significant profitability and shareholder value. Andrew has worked as Regional Manager for Calcomp Inc, (a division of Lockheed Martin), VP Sales for Double Impact and co-founding successful start-up ventures in both the United States of America and in Australia.

Andrew joined NewSat in 2007, becoming Vice President of Sales in June 2008. Through strong leadership, effective communications and genuine interpersonal skills Andrew has built a successful, process-driven and scalable global sales team to support NewSat’s future growth.

Andrew holds a bachelor of Applied Science majoring in computer science and mathematics from Swinburne University, Australia. After a successful start as a computer programmer and analyst, Andrew then transitioned into sales and business management where he has created, developed and subsequently managed a number of divisional business units with full P&L accountability.

Merv Kuek – Vice President Marketing

Merv Kuek has over a decade of marketing experience that includes working for telecommunications companies Telstra and more recently Crazy John's (a subsidiary of Vodafone Hutchison Australia). His extensive telecommunications experience also extends to sales, products, operations and P&L accountability, giving Merv a unique understanding of the industry. Merv has a proven track record across the entire marketing mix including strategy development and execution, product design, pricing, communications and end-to-end campaign management.

Merv holds a Bachelor of Engineering Hons and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne. He joined NewSat in July 2010 and with his results-driven marketing approach has quickly developed a dedicated marketing function to drive brand awareness, customer acquisition and future business growth.