June 8, 2016
HISPAMAR Satélites, the joint venture formed by HISPASAT and Oi, has appointed Clovis Jose Baptista Neto as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. Baptista Neto, who is an international ICT consultant, was elected to the position at the company's shareholders meeting held in April and today chairs the Board of Directors meeting for the first time.
With a degree in Telecommunications Engineering, Baptista Neto began his career in 1973 at Furnas Centrais Elétricas, where he specialised in the area of microwave radio communication systems for electricity companies. He served for 15 years (2000 to 2015) as Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), an entity of the Organization of the American States (OAS), which has its headquarters in Washington DC. From 2008 to 2010 he also served as director of the OAS Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, appointed by the OAS Secretary General.
Prior to that, Baptista Neto served as a special adviser to the Minister of Communications, and as Head of ANATEL’s Office of International Affairs in Brasilia. He also served as Chairman of the Board of TELEPISA from 1995 to 1998. Baptista Neto represented Brazil in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council from 1995 to 1999, and also in the negotiations on telecommunications services of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which led to the adoption of the fourth protocol of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in 1997. From 1974 to 1995 he carried out important functions in technical and managerial areas of the company Embratel.
Appointing Clovis Jose Baptista Neto as chairman is a strategic decision that will surely strengthen the position of HISPAMAR Satélites, given that the Board of Directors will be chaired by someone with extensive international experience. The new Chairman will assume the role of strengthening existing institutional relationships and creating new ones, in addition to leading the company towards the achievement of its goals, guaranteeing its growth and generating shareholder value and benefits for the company’s interest groups.
In the upcoming year, Baptista Neto and the company will be faced with a major challenge: the launch of the new Amazonas 5 satellite, which will be located at the 61º West orbital position and offer Ka band capacity to provide new broadband services in Brazil and Latin America. The Amazonas 5 also has Ku band capacity to provide audiovisual services for corporate networks and other telecommunications applications.