Michael L. O’Connor, Ph.D., became Executive Vice President, Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Group upon Iridium’s acquisition of Satelles in April 2024. He had served as CEO of Satelles since the company’s creation in 2013 and led the charge to develop the Satellite Time and Location (STL) service and bring to customers worldwide.

Before Satelles, Dr. O’Connor co-founded IntegriNautics (later renamed Novariant and subsequently acquired by AgJunction) and served as chief technical officer, vice president of business development, and eventually CEO. In recognition of his visionary work, Michael has been honored by MIT Technology Review as one of the world’s top young innovators and was included in GPS World magazine’s inaugural list of “50 Leaders to Watch in GNSS.” Dr. O’Connor was also a 2006 inductee into the Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame.

Dr. O’Connor received his Bachelor of Science in avionics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and his Master of Science and Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University.