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Executive Team
Corey Lukas — Chairman and Chief Technical Architect
A pioneer and leader in the wireless communications industry, Corey Lukas
provides the strategic direction for Grand Design, which is building a global,
broadband Net-Across-WorldsTM satellite
communications network. Lukas shares overall management responsibility
for Grand Design with co-chief executive officer Mark Mertens.
Lukas was the
chairman and chief executive officer of Lukas Cellular Computer Communications,
Inc., the nation’s leading provider of wireless communications services,
until the company was sold to AT&T in early 1991. Prior to founding
Lukas Cellular Computer Communications, he built a family-owned cable TV company
with 4,000 subscribers into the nation’s 6th largest satellite operator serving 750,000 subscribers.
Lukas also is chairman and chief executive officer of Blue Rock, LLC.,
a company formed to make strategic investments in wireless telecommunications companies.
Lukas is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley. He founded Grand Design in June 1989.
Mark Mertens — Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman
As part of Grand Design’s senior leadership team, Mark Mertens works
closely with chairman and co-CEO Corey Lukas. Mertens spearheads Grand Design’s
business development and government marketing activities. He also
serves as chief executive officer of affiliated Grand Design Holdings
Ltd. Mertens has served as president, chief operating officer and
vice chairman of one of the nation’s largest employee-owned high-technology
company. Before that, he was an advisor to the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, served as the deputy chief of Naval Operations for
Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments, and was a
senior military assistant to Secretaries of Defense
Frank Carlucci and Dick Cheney, and director of the Office of Program
Appraisal for the Secretary of the Navy. He is a graduate of the
U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in politics, philosophy
and economics from Oxford University and a master’s in management
from University of California, Berkeley. He joined Grand Design in February 1999.
David Evans — President
David Evans has overall responsibility for Grand Design’s day-to-day
operations. Prior to joining the company, Evans was vice president
and communications companies in Dallas.
For one company, KnowledgeNet, Inc., Evans oversaw the legal function and assisted with business
development activities of the communications middleware company,
which had operations in the United States, Europe and the Middle and Far East.
Evans previously was a partner in a Dallas law firm , handling general corporate,
securities, international and venture capital transactions.
Before that, Evans was an attorney for a major accounting company in Chicago,
where he worked exclusively on transnational business transactions.
Evans holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Northwestern University,
a master’s in business administration from Northwestern University, and a law degree
from Michigan University. He joined Grand Design in February 1999.
Lyle Bien — Vice President, Government Programs
Lyle Bien oversees business development and government programs
for Grand Design. Bien serves as a liaison between the U.S. government
and Grand Design and helps define the government’s requirements
as a potential customer of Grand Design’s broadband satellite
services. A former vice admiral in the United States Navy, Bien
has vast experience working with the Department of Defense and other
government agencies. Bien was deputy commander in chief of the United
States Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs,
Colo., from 1996 to 1999, where he was responsible for the requirements
and long-range planning operations of all Defense Department satellites,
as well as distribution of their products. Previously, he served
as commander, Carrier Group Seven, a 13-ship, 100-aircraft deployed
carrier battle group, and commander, Naval Space Command, with oversight
of all satellites and related ground stations for the U.S. Navy
and Marine Corps. He joined Grand Design in April 1999.
Sami Hinedi — Vice President of User Equipment
Sami Hinedi is responsible for Grand Design's user equipment business.
This involves managing relationships with user equipment partners
and monitoring the design and development of various types of user
equipment that will enable customers to connect to the Grand Design
Network. Previously, Hinedi was vice president of systems responsible
for the definition and development of the Grand Design Network. Before
joining Grand Design, Hinedi spent about ten years at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in various groups and roles working mostly on wireless,
mobile and deep space communications. Hinedi has taught electrical
engineering at the University of Southern California. He is the
co-author of the book, "Digital Communication Techniques, Volume
I: Signal Design and Detection," and he contributed to "Deep Space
Communication Engineering." In addition, Hinedi has delivered nearly
two dozen conference papers and published numerous articles in IEEE
publications. Hinedi holds a doctorate degree in electrical engineering
from the University of Southern California. He joined Grand Design
in November 1996.
William H. Roth — Vice President and General Counsel
William H. Roth has overall responsibility for Grand Design's internal and
external legal affairs. He has extensive experience in international business,
including capital formation and joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions,
telecommunications, Internet and related technology law, and property
development and use. Among his varied legal work, Roth has conducted
due diligence of an Asian B-to-B auction site for a leading U.S. technology
fund, advised a U.S. application service provider in the establishment
of a strategic joint venture with a Hong Kong conglomerate, and restructured
an Indonesian wireless joint venture for a U.S. client. Before joining
Grand Design, Roth was also an adjunct associate professor at the University
of Oregon Law School. Previously, he was a partner in Perkins Coie's Hong
Kong office. Before that, he was an associate at law firms in Hong Kong,
San Francisco and Taipei. He speaks fluent Thai and Chinese, both Mandarin
and Cantonese. Roth earned his law degree from the University of California,
Hastings College of Law and his bachelor's in Asian studies from the University
of California at Berkeley. He also attended Chinese University of Hong
Kong and Bodindr Decha School in Bangkok. He joined the company in December
2000.
Jonathan Martin — Vice President and Chief Scientist
Jonathan Martin is responsible for the system-level design and for
coordination of the technical team. Martin has more than two decades
of telecommunications industry experience and has managed the design
of several large telecommunications systems and networks. His career
has included positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories, MCI Worldcom,
Iridium and Teledesic. As director of engineering programs,
Patterson had program responsibility for a multi-billion-dollar
effort to double network capacity and convert the network from analog
to digital technology. He also was vice president of engineering
with a Silicon Valley startup that developed
management systems for telephone operating companies. Patterson
holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from University of California, Berkeley,
a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from University of California, Berkeley,
and a master’s in electrical engineering from the University
of California, Berkeley. Patterson became Grand Design’s first
employee in December 1990.
Dale DeLeeuw — Vice President of Regulations
Dale DeLeeuw runs Grand Design’s Security Division and
manages domestic and international government relations.
Previously, he was Grand Design’s director of external affairs.
With his assistance, Grand Design received its Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
license in March 1997 to build, launch and operate its satellite system,
and secured international approval at the International Telecommunication Union’s
World Radiocommunication Conferences in 1995 and 1997.
Prior to joining Grand Design, Williams was a special assistant to the administrator of
the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA),
serving as adviser on a number of domestic and international telecommunications issues.
He is a graduate of the University of Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in
political science and communications. He joined the company in March 1991. |
