Michel Forest to succeed David Wendling as Chief Technology Officer

Asit Tandon joins as Chief Network and Information Officer

Telesat , one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators,  announced that Michel Forest will be its new Chief Technology Officer following the retirement of David Wendling at the end of February 2025. In this role, Mr. Forest will report to Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO, and oversee Telesat’s satellite operations, satellite and systems engineering, launch activities and program management.

Serving most recently as Telesat’s Vice President of LEO System Engineering, Mr. Forest has been leading the end-to-end architecture and system performance of the advanced Telesat Lightspeed constellation. Prior to his decade-long career at Telesat, he held leadership positions in satellite systems and antenna engineering at MDA Space.

“Michel has a strong track record of leading the development of innovative solutions and delivering exceptional results to optimize the performance, reliability and cost of Telesat’s satellite assets,” stated Dan Goldberg. “I have great confidence in Michel’s leadership, expertise and vision in supporting our global customer base and executing on the Telesat Lightspeed program.”

“I am honored to succeed Dave as Telesat’s Chief Technology Officer and thank him for his years of leadership and mentorship throughout my career with the company,” said Michel Forest. “I am excited for the bright future ahead as we execute on the Telesat Lightspeed program and our vision to redefine space-based connectivity throughout the world.”

With regard to Wendling’s departure, Goldberg added, “In his nearly 40-year stellar career with Telesat, Dave has been the driving force of technical innovation at the company, resulting in several satellite industry firsts and the state-of-the-art design of Telesat Lightspeed. All of us at Telesat are deeply grateful for Dave’s outstanding contributions, dedication and leadership.”

“It has been my honor to work with the brightest minds in the satellite industry during my tenure at Telesat and help create a culture of engineering excellence that drives continual innovation,” said David Wendling. “It’s a pivotal time at Telesat and Michel is the right leader to take charge of the Telesat Lightspeed program to deliver revolutionary capabilities to our customers.”

Also announced today, Asit Tandon is joining Telesat in the role of Chief Network and Information Officer, reporting to Goldberg. In this role, Mr. Tandon will be responsible for the terrestrial elements of the Telesat Lightspeed network, including Network Operations systems, the Network Operations Center, facilities, program management and customer fulfillment, and network and corporate IT systems.

Mr. Tandon brings deep expertise from a distinguished career in planning, deploying and operating telecom networks. He was most recently the Vice President of Network Technology at Rogers Communications, where he was responsible for the technology development, design, engineering and operations of wireline access and core networks. Previously, Mr. Tandon held leadership roles in Network Operations at Hutchison-3 Indonesia, Bharti Airtel and Siemens Ltd. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Delhi college of Engineering.

“I’m excited to welcome Asit to our senior leadership team, where he will play a crucial role in building and integrating best-in-class technical operations systems and worldwide facilities that will be essential elements of the Telesat Lightspeed network,” stated Goldberg. “Asit’s deep expertise and global experience will be invaluable as we execute on our ambitious growth plans.”

“I am thrilled to join Telesat at such a pivotal time of growth and innovation,” said Asit Tandon. “Telesat has a proven 55-year track record of revolutionizing satellite connectivity, and I look forward to leveraging my extensive network expansion experience to advance global operational excellence and service delivery in the fast-growing global broadband connectivity market.”