21437 - CAI Feedback Feb2022 + Showguide v2 COMPLETE

Simon Gray 1966 – 2022 It was with real shock and sadness that we learnt of the death of Simon Gray, just as this issue of Feedback was going to print. Simon was a director of CAI from 2013 and was also a member of the Education and Skills Committee. His input was always professional, insightful and intelligent, but his keen sense of humour and infectious laugh are the things we’ll most remember - and miss. He couldn’t always attend meetings, usually because he was in a disaster area somewhere in the world, trying to help the victims, but it was always such a pleasure, and very much appreciated by all, when he could attend. Simon represented Eutelsat on the CAI Board, he joined them in 1999 as Head of VSAT Fleet & DTH Deployment. In 2016, he was appointed Senior Vice President of Civil Government Services, responsible for work package leadership in EU and European Space Agency - ESA studies into next-generation satellite constellations and resilient network design across the Eutelsat fleet. As well as on the CAI Board, Simon also represented Eutelsat and the satellite industry in lobbying activities with world bodies. He was a member of the Board of Directors of GVF, the global non-profit association of the satellite industry. He also served as a member of the International Telecommunication Union Advisory Board for developing disaster communications strategies and was selected by other satellite operators to coordinate the United Nations Crisis Connectivity Charter, linking the World Food Programme -led Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC). Simon also represented the satellite industry on the ETC Plenary Board. The achievement that was closest to his heart was his conviction that the Satellite Community should give something back to society. Simon worked tirelessly, using his contacts and influence to mobilize other satellite operators; he organized actions and plans with the United Nations, Save the Children International, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Food Programme and others, to implement actions to provide communications to those most in need: refugees and children. He faced many headwinds, but his enduring legacy will be the difference he made to the lives of people who needed it the most. Simon leaves behind him a wife and four children, to whom we send our most heartfelt condolences. Peter Sealey CAI Chairman