David Bettinger is a business and technology visionary with 30 years of experience in system engineering, focused on innovative satellite communications. He is a strategic thinker with a track record of capturing opportunities, cultivating partnerships, and transforming startup ventures into a competitive position.
Before joining SpaceLink, Mr. Bettinger was VP of the Communications Systems and Advanced Development Group at OneWeb. He was a founding member of the satellite network operator, which was established in 2014, and he led a team of satellite, aerospace and communications engineers to design its first- and second-generation satellite payloads, user terminals, and ground segment.
At OneWeb he was successful in supporting investment activities and was responsible for the corporate technology roadmap. His expertise includes communication systems architectures, RF and digitally regenerative satellite payloads, optical inter-satellite links, electronically steered phased array antennas, and network architectures.
Previous to his role at OneWeb, Mr. Bettinger spent more than a decade as CTO and Senior VP of Engineering at ST Engineering iDirect, a $250 million satellite communications technology company which provided VSAT solutions to over 400 customers in 120 countries.
In this role he was responsible for the oversight of all technology decisions and led the technology team to make iDirect the largest TDMA enterprise VSAT manufacturer in the world. He drove the strategic direction for product development, research, technology alliances, and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Bettinger began his career at Hughes Network Systems where he was a member of the Technical Staff in the Satellite Networks Division. There he contributed to the development of several generations of the Personal Earth Station (PES) satellite network, which was Hughes’ flagship product line at the time. He was also a member of the design team that developed and deployed the Claircom air-to-ground telephony system for commercial and private aircraft.
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Mr. Bettinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1989 and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1992. A frequent spokesperson at industry events, he has authored more than 50 technical papers and articles and holds seven patents in satellite communications.