Key Staff
Michael Asmussen, President
Michael Asmussen has almost four decades of experience in the field of system engineering and communications. He is skilled in Digital Audio Technologies; Satellite Communications; Cable and Broadcast TV Network Engineering and Operations; Conditional Access Systems Design and Management; Weather Data Collection, Storage, and Dissemination System Architectures; Interactive Automotive Telematics and Vehicle Digital Services Delivery; Strategic Technology Evaluations; Project and Vendor Management; and Marketing and Business Development. His engineering and management expertise has ensured the successful deployment and launch of numerous digital video and audio broadcast services, including DARS and SDTV / HDTV video services. He has proven himself well qualified to lead complex technology projects through all stages of requirements analysis, specification, procurement, design, development, and implementation. His talents as a system architect and system designer have been successfully demonstrated across numerous clients and technology areas and have positioned him as a highly sought-after industry expert. His strong organization / communications skills and keen judgment under pressure have allowed him to excel in his previous roles of process planning and operations of various on-air production broadcast systems. His marketing and business analysis acumen has served him well in strategic technology planning and patent valuation / monetization efforts.
Michael earned a BSEE from the University of Maryland, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, and received his MBA from Virginia Tech. He is the co-inventor of numerous published and pending patents in the area of digital broadcast technologies, targeted advertising, and electronic books. Michael Asmussen has also been published in several technical publications including the National Association of Broadcasters Technical Proceedings.
Ken Ryan, PE, Vice President
Ken Ryan has thirty years of experience in RF communication systems design and regulatory consulting, as well as satellite system engineering expertise. He is an industry leader actively involved with commercial spectrum management services. He has held senior level management positions at Comsearch and has been active in development of new services involving emerging technologies. Ken provides technical and business development leadership for all satellite and wireless engineering services, frequency planning services, and earth station RFI services. His areas of expertise include Fixed, Satellite, and Emerging Wireless Technologies engineering, intersystem interference assessment, and spectrum management. Ken also brings considerable experience in commercial and federal government wireless initiatives, domestic and international specialized spectrum management services, emerging wireless services, and satellite Ka-band systems.
Ken holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University and a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He is a Professional Engineer registered in the states of Virginia and Maryland. Ken has been active in the TIA and is currently the Vice-President of the National Spectrum Managers Association.
Bill Swart, Vice President
Bill Swart has a wide range of experience in systems engineering and project management on a variety of telecommunications projects in terrestrial and satellite transmission systems and audio and video broadcast systems. With thirty years of industry experience, he is skilled in project management and systems engineering of IT and communications systems including system architecture and design, project management, functional and technical requirements definition, technology evaluation, vendor selection and oversight, system integration and testing, and acquisition support based on state-of-the-art technologies. He has developed implementation strategies for digital content distribution systems using industry standards for transport over various network topologies. Bill has extensive experience working with a broad range of commercial and government clients.
Bill has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, is PMP certified, and has received several awards and letters of commendation for his contributions in the areas of system specification, testing, and implementation.
Graham Woodring, PE, Senior Systems Engineer
Graham Woodring is a seasoned RF communications engineer with 15 years of experience in the design and implementation of satellite systems. He has a proven track record of successfully leading complex IT and RF network projects through all stages of requirements analysis, specification, procurement, design, development, and implementation. He has completed numerous RF system projects from conception to installation in the 70 MHz to Ka-Band range for government and commercial customers domestically and in multiple countries such as Indonesia, Romania, England, and Germany.
His areas of expertise include fixed satellite services, design and testing of earth terminal systems, RFI analysis, proposal management and technical writing, regulatory compliance, emerging wireless technologies, NGSO satellite constellations, project and vendor management, and cutting-edge software defined satellite and IP networks.
In his previous role at Globecomm Systems, an industry-leading satellite systems integrator, Graham designed and tested systems while managing multi-faceted teams of up to 20 people on projects for a combined +$50m in sales to government agencies and commercial customers.
Graham has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from SUNY University at Buffalo, graduating Cum Laude, and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Professional Engineer registered in the state of Virginia.
Sidney Skjei, PE, Retired
Founder of Skjei Telecom, Sidney Skjei recently retired after more than 40 years in engineering and development of telecommunications and broadcasting systems and services and in procurement, operation, and marketing of communications and earth sensing satellites. As President Emeritus of Skjei Telecom, Sidney still provides his expertise to the company when needed and is available on a limited basis for consultation. He is a recognized industry-leading expert in all satellite communications markets and technical subjects.
Sidney’s experience includes highly complex and technical system analysis, tradeoff evaluation, and expert recommendations for a wide variety of networks and system implementations. As the President and Principal Consulting Engineer for Skjei Telecom, he was entrusted by our clients to perform technical due diligence and advisement on numerous large commercial acquisitions. He has also provided technical and managerial support to NOAA, NWS, US Department of Justice, FEMA, and numerous State Governments including Nebraska, Georgia, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Montana, Oklahoma, California and Louisiana.
Sidney holds an MSEE With Distinction from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and a BS With Merit from the US Naval Academy. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, has taught numerous satellite and digital video courses, and has authored and co-authored numerous articles and books on satellite telecommunications.