International Launch Services (ILS) has appointed Jim Kramer as Vice President of Engineering and Mission Assurance and Thomas Carroll as Vice President of Sales.
ILS has implemented an organizational realignment to strengthen the critical functions required to re-establish customer trust and confidence in utilizing Proton launch services. As a result, ILS is expanding the role of engineering and mission assurance to directly address customer concerns relative to reliability, insight and oversight.
Kramer’s appointment as Vice President of Engineering and Mission Assurance will leverage his 30 years of experience to focus on mission assurance, and technical insight of production processes, procedures and mission assurance initiatives. Kramer will also be responsible for oversight and insight into ILS Proton and Angara product development activities at Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center (Khrunichev). Kramer will be the primary interface with our customers and the insurance community to communicate the plans, status and progress of initiatives targeted at improving mission assurance and product improvements within Khrunichev. Kramer previously served as ILS Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications and prior to that as the ILS Chief Engineer.
Carroll, as the new Vice President of Sales, is responsible for leading global sales of Proton and Angara launch services. Carroll joined ILS in 2000, and served in various roles, most recently as the regional sales director covering Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Carroll has over 30 years of global sales experience and well established relationships with our customer base. Prior to ILS, Carroll’s sales and marketing experience involved working with regional and global satellite operators with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites.
“This realignment of the organization will place the right skill set in the right position to most effectively address customer trust and confidence. Jim Kramer and Tom Carroll both have extensive experience with Proton and a thorough understanding of the commercial launch business and are well suited to serve our customers and overall business plan,” said Kirk Pysher, President of ILS.
About ILS and Khrunichev
ILS provides launch services for global satellite operators and offers a complete array of services and support, from contract signing through mission management and on-orbit delivery. ILS markets the Proton and Angara vehicles to commercial satellite operators worldwide and is a U.S. company headquartered in Reston, VA., near Washington, D.C. To date, ILS has launched 90 commercial missions. For more information, visit www.ilslaunch.com.
Khrunichev, which holds the majority interest in ILS, is one of the cornerstones of the Russian space industry. Khrunichev manufactures the Proton system and the Angara family of vehicles. The Proton vehicle launches from facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and has a heritage of more than 400 missions since 1965. Khrunichev includes, among its branches, a number of key manufacturers of launch vehicle and spacecraft components in Moscow and in other cities of the Russian Federation. For more information, visit www.khrunichev.com.