The World Teleport Association (WTA) today named Sergey Raber, COO and Director of Operations at AXESS Networks, as the 2024 Teleport Executive of the Year. The award will be presented at the 2024 Teleport Awards for Excellence Luncheon on March 19 during the SATELLITE 2024 conference in Washington, DC. The Teleport Executive of the Year award is presented to an individual for demonstrated entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation in the development or operation of a teleport-based business.

“Teleports are part of the ‘always on’ economy, where even tiny lapses in availability or information rate are a serious matter,” said executive director Robert Bell. “The people who head operations are the unsung heroes of our industry, and Sergey Raber is a prime example, not only for the company’s high quality of service but for contributing to everything from customer management to mergers and acquisitions. WTA is proud to single him out for our annual award.”

Sergey Raber has served as COO and Director of Operations at AXESS Networks’ German office in Ruppichteroth for 16 years. He joined CeTel as a Project Manager in 2006 prior to its acquisition by AXESS Networks. In his current position, Mr. Raber is responsible for management of teleport operations, pre-sales and engineering, CRM system optimization and M&A assistance, in addition to expanding the company’s maritime support and integration of new services as well as its automation and orchestration services in the NOC. He was responsible for developing AXESS Networks’ in-house Monitoring System and its in-house Helpdesk System.

Before joining AXESS Networks, Mr. Raber worked as a scientist, conducting research in the field of Satellite Telecommunications at GMD/Fraunhofer FOKUS in St. Augustin, Germany. He participated in multiple international scientific projects during his 9 years as a researcher. Mr. Raber began his career as an Engineer at Optima JSC in Moscow, Russia, while completing his studies at the Moscow State Institute for Electronics and Mathematics. He also later received a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Wales in 2013. Mr. Raber has provided his technical insights in several publications, including Satellite ISP Market, Future Mobile Communication Networks and multiple WTA research reports, He has also collaborated on training, certification, publication and study programs with multiple major industry players, including Newtec, SES, Arabsat, Eutelsat, Hispasat, Comtech, UHP, Vertex and Kratos.

In addition to Mr. Raber, the list of Teleport Executive of the Year alumni includes Vladimir Rangelov of Vivacom, Jim Veeder of USEI, Sean McDaniel of ATLAS, Mauricio Segovia of AXESS Networks; Guido Neumann of CETel; Carlos Raba of Santander Teleport; Abel Avellan of Global Eagle; Pierre-Jean Beylier of SpeedCast; Avi Cohen of RR Media; Bill Tillson of Encompass Digital Media; Adrian Ballintine of NewSat Ltd.; Jaime Dickinson of NewCom International; Doug Tutt of Global Energy Services, CapRock Communications; the late Kenneth Miller of Globecomm Systems; David Rivel of RRsat Global Communications Network; Nick Thompson of Arqiva Broadcast & Media; Brent J. Gale of EchoStar; Norberto Alvarez Vitale of Teleport International Buenos Aires; and Jorge Luis Villarreal Schutz of Elara Comunicaciones.