Michelle Mendes Named President of SatCan

Satellite Canada Innovation Network (SatCan) today announced that Executive Director Michelle Mendes has been named SatCan President. She replaces former President and founder Ryan Anderson in the role.

Mr. Anderson founded the non-profit 3 years ago with the vision of promoting the Canadian space industry both

at home and abroad. Two years ago, Ms. Mendes was appointed the Executive Director and for the past two years both were instrumental in making SatCan a well-known name in space industry circles.

While managing several government programs, SatCan led a #TeamCanada Space Mission and produced the Canada Pavilion at the 2019 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Washington, D.C., and the 2019 Canadian Space Summit in Ottawa.

In 2020, like most companies, SatCan was forced to “go virtual” when the COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel and meeting opportunities. Throughout a difficult year, SatCan supported the sector in many ways including delivery of several government programs to industry, hosting numerous online events, including virtual large scale conferences, and stoked the Canadian space sector by promoting the Canadian Space Directory.

Mr. Anderson is stepping aside as SatCan president to pursue an opportunity in the private sector and to spend more time with his family.

“Satellite Canada is a critical piece of the ecosystem needed to grow the Canadian space sector,” Mr. Anderson said. “From the early Supercluster application to the establishment of the Optical SatCom Consortium with the National Research Council, it has been a joy and honor to serve our industry and to work with the many wonderful people in it. It is hard to leave behind, but I am comforted knowing that I am leaving it in very capable hands.”

“I am very excited to be carrying on the good work of SatCan to grow the industry for Canada. ” stated Ms. Mendes, “I would like to thank Ryan for his leadership and his vision for Canadian space. l am looking forward to the significant upcoming opportunities as we continue to expand the SatCan network for the benefit of the space sector.”

About SatCan

SatCan is a not-for-profit organization working to advance Canadian global competitiveness in commercial space, technology and development. The organization works to support the Canadian space sector in many ways, such as:

• Executing programs that provide direct support to commercial companies.
• Managing consortia that work together to develop next generation space technology.
• Promoting Canada’s space industry on the world stage to demonstrate Canadian capabilities.
• SatCan is a neutral third party uniquely positioned to deliver support and programmes available from, and to, public and private sources.

For more information please contact comms@satcan.ca