SIA PRES. DALBELLO NAMED PRES. OF SBCA
The Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn.’s (SBCA) nearly 7-month search for a president has ended. The association named Richard DalBello, current Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) pres., to replace Andrew Wright, who resigned in Sept. “As a result of Richard’s past experience in the public and private sectors he has an unmatched appreciation for the complexity of the issues affecting our industry,” said SBCA Chmn. David Moskowitz.
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DalBello’s 3-year tenure as SIA pres. will end March 30, when his new role starts. An SIA spokesman said DalBello would will begin the transition immediately as acting pres. He said the SIA board would start looking for a president right away, in hopes of making a decision by month-end. The spokesman said the board wanted to find someone with regulation experience and credibility in govt. work.
While DalBello’s expertise with SIA issues could result in creative cooperation between the 2 organizations, industry officials said, a significant increase in collaboration is unlikely. “There’s been great cooperation between SIA and SBCA and I expect that will continue… but I don’t see a lot of new opportunities to do more than they're doing now,” one official said. Moskowitz said “SBCA’s interests are quite broad and Richard will undoubtedly be working closely with many organizations.”
DalBello declined to detail his plans to convey SBCA’s concerns on Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) renewal: “The SBCA has already done a good job of outlining those positions. I don’t see us revisiting those issues but aggressively working on the Hill to build relationships.” DalBello said he hoped to see action on the issue from the Senate this summer: “I don’t think anything that was suggested is undoable. It’s all pretty reasonable.”
Satellite industry response to the news was positive. Former SBCA presidents Charles Hewitt and Andrew Wright said DalBello was an “excellent choice.” Attorney Phillip Spector said DalBello was just the type of leader the association needed with so many major issues active: “[T]hrough SIA and former work, he knows all the key people on the Hill who deal with satellite policy issues and who are familiar with those issues.” Spector said DalBello’s experience as a diplomat in SIA would be handy at SBCA, where members like DirecTV and EchoStar often have competing interests. “He knows all the issues, he’s well connected, and he knows how to do a lot with a little,” said an industry official: “That’s what SBCA needs right now.”