Inmarsat : New Inmarsat non-executive director announced

29 January 2015: Inmarsat has appointed Dr Hamadoun Touré as an additional non-executive member of the board.

Dr Touré, who joins on 1 March 2015 as a member of the Nominations Committee, was previously Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to the information and communication technologies from 2007 to 2014.

Since 2007, he worked to fulfil the ITU's mandate to 'connect the world' and help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. He actively promoted the ITU Connect series of events, with the first one, Connect Africa, being held in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2007. Connect Africa has gone on to raise US$55 billion in investment pledges to improve Africa's telecommunications infrastructure over seven years.

Dr Touré was the founding member of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development which was launched in May 2010 by the ITU and UNESCO and he served as co-vice chair until his retirement from the ITU. He was also Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (TDB) from 1998 to 2006 when he championed the Right to Communicate. Prior to joining the ITU he had a distinguished career in the satellite industry.

Dr Touré is also on the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) International Advisory Board which was the ITU's Cybersecurity Executing Arm.

Andrew Sukawaty, Inmarsat's Chairman said; "It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the Inmarsat plc Board to welcome Hamadoun Touré to our Board. His experience as a recently retired Secretary General of the ITU will provide great insight to our Board and bring added diversity to our discussions. His extensive understanding of communication technology and his previous experience of satellite operations combine to give us a rich knowledge which we will make great use of."