SWISSto12 is Proud to Announce Emile de Rijk has been Nominated for Via Satellite’s 2024 Satellite Executive of the Year Award

February 18^th, 2025 – Renens, Switzerland // SWISSto12, one of the industry’s fastest-growing satellite companies and a leader in Radio Frequency communications solutions, announces that CEO and Founder Dr. Emile de Rijk has been nominated for the prestigious award in the satellite industry, Via Satellite’s 2024 Satellite Executive of the Year Award.

Other nominees for the award include executives from Intelsat, Redwire Space, IDirect, Fleet Space Technologies and Space ISAC. The nominees were chosen based on their contributions to the global satellite markets, technologies, business practices, services, innovations, advocacy, or any combination of the aforementioned.

The winner of the 2024 Satellite Executive of the Year will be determined by a combination of the Via Satellite editorial team and votes that come directly from the industry. The public can vote for Emile online.

As part of their Celebrating Women in Satellite 2025 list, Via Satellite has also recognized Agnieszka Koscielniak, GEO Satellite Systems Engineering Manager at SWISSto12 as a leader in the satellite industry.

Founded in 2011, SWISSto12 developed with a bottom-up approach: growing from a university spinoff with patented 3D printing technology to disrupt the design and manufacturing of Radio-Frequency (RF) antennas, to an established and growing RF systems manufacturer with satellite user terminals including active electronically steered antennas (AESAs) developed and deployed on hundreds of airborne, maritime and ground platforms for Tier 1 customers including Thales, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. In addition, the company now has thousands of products operating in space across LEO and GEO, with zero failures.

With its proven heritage in RF solutions established, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, SWISSto12 developed HummingSat – a small and agile satellite that defines a new category for geostationary telecommunications, helping global network operators including Intelsat and Viasat+Inmarsat and sovereign nations use smaller assets in GEO to better address secure sovereign connectivity use cases, replacing ageing assets, servicing regional markets and supporting a variety of emerging payloads.

SWISSto12 has grown a strong team of over 200, with over 40% CAGR revenue growth over the past year, which is projected to continue. The company has developed a global footprint spanning Switzerland, Europe and the USA, including over 5,700m² of production areas. Last year, the company was already recognized as a Global Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum and one of Via Satellite’s “10 Hottest Companies in Satellite 2024”.

Dr. Emile de Rijk, CEO and Founder of SWISSto12 said: “I’m honored to be nominated for the 2024 Satellite Executive of the Year. This reflects the achievements, innovation and ambitions of the entire SWISSto12 team. We have continuously strived to develop cutting edge products and systems to help the satellite industry disrupt global communications, with an attitude to shoot for the stars with our feet on the ground! This nomination by Via Satellite recognizes the importance of SWISSto12’s mission to push the boundaries of geostationary satellite communications with HummingSat: championing a growing category of small and agile geostationary satellites to better connect and protect people around the world.”

Rachel Jewett, Senior Managing Editor of Via Satellite said; “For decades, the Satellite Executive of the Year award has commemorated outstanding leadership in the satellite industry. This year is no different and we are proud to announce the group of six nominees that represent different ways of charting a new path for the future of the satellite industry.” 

Voting closes at noon ET on March 11. The winner will be announced at SATELLITE 2025 on Wednesday, March 12 at the Via Satellite Awards Luncheon, which is open to all conference-level attendees. Register for SATELLITE here. 

For more information on the award, or to vote for Emile de Rijk, please visit https://www.satellitetoday.com/vote.

About SWISSto12

SWISSto12 is a leading manufacturer of advanced satellite RF products, payloads and systems, including the HummingSat: a small yet powerful geostationary telecommunications satellite developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) through its public-private-partnership program. The company’s RF products benefit from unique and patented 3D-printing technologies and associated Radio Frequency (RF) product designs that deliver lightweight, compact, highly performing, and competitive RF functionality.

Besides its space portfolio, the company is also active in the telecommunications and aeronautic industry. SWISSto12 has developed commercially with success in Europe and in the USA, and is amongst the fastest growing aerospace companies in Europe. SWISSto12 spun off in 2011 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is privately owned and backed by prominent Swiss and European Investors.

About Via Satellite

Via Satellite provides essential news and expert business analysis on the global satellite communications marketplace, including current and evolving applications, infrastructure issues, technology, and business and regulatory developments around the world and reaches the most engaged community of satellite professionals and qualified industry decision makers.

About SATELLITE 2025

SATELLITE 2025 brings together over 14,000+ attendees from 110+ countries, uniting a diverse community of aerospace and connectivity leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, engineers, end-users, and enthusiasts for the industry’s largest and most influential global event. This year, with the debut of GovMilSpace, SATELLITE expands its reach to address the needs and priorities of the defense sector. Join us March 10-13, 2025, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.SATShow.com.