With a formidable reputation built on a proven track record of leadership and innovation, Nicole Robinson boasts an impressive career spanning over two decades, with a predominant focus on satellite communications (SATCOM) and recent years dedicated to geospatial endeavors. Recognized for her leadership acumen and innovative contributions, Nicole has swiftly made a significant and positive impact at Comtech since joining as Chief Growth Officer in April. 

Nicole’s journey into strategic growth leadership commenced during her nearly 14-year tenure leading the global government business at SES, the world’s largest commercial satellite owner and operator. In this role, she acquired invaluable insights into methodical, repeatable processes that drive scalable and profitable growth. Importantly, Nicole recognized the universality of these principles, applicable to businesses of all sizes. 

Her prowess in strategic growth leadership became even more apparent when she assumed the role of President at Ursa Space. Tasked with scaling the company’s first products globally after its series B fundraising stage, Nicole drew from the foundation of successful practices cultivated at SES. These best practices, proven to hold true in a larger operation, played a crucial role in Ursa Space’s growth trajectory. 

An Approach to Achieving Success and Overcoming Challenges 

Nicole finds her leadership style to be most effective and comfortable when leading from within the team. She believes that collaborating closely and partnering with the leaders of the organization to meet and exceed objectives, as well as overcoming challenges together, is one of the keys to success. Nicole perceives that working through both opportunities and challenges shoulder to shoulder has a lasting impact on a team’s cohesion, loyalty, and a sense of being ‘in it together.’ 

In contrast, leading from out in front can feel lonely and isolated, potentially leading to being out of touch with the engines and drivers of the team and organization. Nicole emphasizes that driving the team’s direction from within the engine is much more fulfilling and creates a lasting impact on both the business and the relationships among the leaders of the organization. 

WISE Initiatives 

Nicole acknowledges that diversity and inclusion have historically been challenges in the defense and aerospace market. However, she notes positive initiatives taken by businesses, government organizations, and industry consortia to close the gap and encourage new individuals and organizations to enter the market, highlighting the benefits of such inclusion. As an active member of the SSPI (Space and Satellite Professionals International) association, Nicole observes that the role and contributions of women in the satellite and space community were often overlooked and underappreciated. 

To address this, Nicole and others initiated an organized effort within SSPI called WISE, which stands for Women in Space Engagement. The choice of the word “Engagement” was deliberate, signifying that this initiative was about women eager to lean forward, make an impact, and be fully engaged in the industry. The response was overwhelming, with over one hundred accomplished women from various roles within the industry joining the effort. WISE has since become a platform for women leaders to excel, create networking and mentorship opportunities, and contribute to the growth and innovation of the space and satellite industry. Thanks to SSPI WISE, women in the field now have an expanded and visible platform where they can thrive. 

A Pathway to Business Fundamentals, Leadership, and Global Perspective 

Nicole highly encourages individuals interested in translating their skills within a business environment to pursue earning an MBA with everything they’ve got. In her experience, an MBA provides individuals with essential business fundamentals such as leadership, communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills. These skills, in turn, enable individuals to make more significant contributions and drive tangible business results. 

For Nicole, the key benefit of earning an MBA was the ability to step outside of a single project, program, or effort and gain a broader perspective on the impact on the business and its future. This perspective has been a valuable underpinning in her career. Nicole specifically highlights the programs at Harvard Kennedy School, where she participated in the Senior Executives in the National and International Security program. In this program, she had classmates from over 20 different countries and professors with global leadership experience, providing diverse perspectives that left a strong impact on her. These experiences continue to influence her approach to leadership, helping her meet new challenges and objectives with a global perspective. 

Reflection on Serving as Commencement Speaker 

Serving as the Commencement Speaker for Radford University’s 2022 graduation was an absolutely remarkable moment for Nicole. She recalls the sense of hope and anticipation during her own graduation, looking around at the audience and listening to various speakers who addressed and energized the graduating class. When standing before the students and faculty at Radford University, there was a profound appreciation and hope in the air. 

Nicole recognized that the students didn’t need another lecture or lesson but practical advice on how to navigate the next steps in their lives after leaving the halls of undergraduate and graduate learning. The focus was on the core of who they are and why it matters in their next steps, emphasizing the importance of being genuine to themselves. Nicole encouraged the graduates to remember that whatever journey they embark on is personal, and the connection they make with their work, regardless of the field or function, is personal. She emphasized that their contributions must have the highest impact possible on communities, technologies, individuals, and themselves. Keeping that investment of time, heart, and energy personal is, in her view, at the core of living a fulfilling professional career. Serving as the Commencement Speaker was an honor for Nicole, and it’s a special moment she will never forget. 

Bridging Divides and Empowering Global Connectivity 

Comtech is undergoing a significant transformation, shifting from a legacy box seller and hardware provider to a systems, services, and solutions enabler. One of the company’s key initiatives focuses on digitalization, virtualization, and cloudification, with a keen emphasis on pushing the limits of innovation in ground services and modem technology. Nicole highlights Comtech’s commitment to enabling new blended SATCOM systems that bring blended capabilities from orbits, frequencies, and modalities of space-based technologies at an unprecedented scale. Through blended communications architectures, Comtech is leading the way to transform global connectivity and bring access to new smart networks and insights that can empower a truly connected planet. 

In addition to ground system innovations, Comtech is actively developing growth plans, expanding strategic relationships with customers, and innovating across global satellite, space, terrestrial, and wireless markets. Nicole expresses fulfilment in witnessing the positive impact of these efforts with the teams and partners. The company’s vision goes beyond specific technical details like transponders on satellites; it is centered on providing connectivity, empowerment, and new insights to governments, businesses, and communities globally. 

Comtech’s culture of innovation, combined with over 50 years of technology leadership, is driving the development of smart networks that have the potential to redefine connectivity and empowerment on a global scale. Nicole is optimistic about the lasting and positive impacts Comtech’s solutions and services will have for customers worldwide in the decades to come. 

Innovating with Insight 

Nicole emphasizes the importance of engaging closely with the market and customers to stay informed and innovative. While analysts, industry conferences, and consortia provide valuable insights into technological trends, Nicole believes that firsthand experience in the field is unmatched. The Comtech team actively participates in the market, listening to customers’ pain points, goals, and mission needs. This approach, rooted in partnership, enables Comtech to look ahead to find a better way for its customers, push the limits of innovation, and deliver new solutions and services others never imagined possible. 

By staying ahead of customer needs, Comtech guides its growth strategy for both government and commercial markets. Nicole sees this customer-centric methodology as key to propelling Comtech’s creativity and innovation into the future. The ongoing transformation at Comtech, from driving efficiencies to responding to the market with increased pace and purpose, is leading to new levels of innovation. Leveraging Comtech’s nearly 60 years of technology leadership across global satellite and terrestrial markets, The company’s commitment to elevating creativity, leveraging experience and expertise, and collaborating with customers and partners through initiatives like the EVOKE, Comtech’s innovation foundry, helps uniquely position the company to lead the way in blended, smart-enabled networks, capitalize on market inflection points, and identify synergies that have the potential to transform technology landscapes across the globe. 

Nicole further adds that whether addressing commercial enterprise challenges, providing real-time insights to communities, or delivering lifesaving public safety technology services, Comtech integrates the latest learnings and best practices into its solutions. This adaptability comes from a continuous process of listening and exploring industry information from various sources. 

Visit www.comtech.com to learn more about the company and Nicole’s position as Chief Growth Officer.