Chief Operating Officer & Director, Iridium
Search every verified Suzanne Mcbride interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Suzi McBride, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Iridium, has participated in several interviews in 2024 and 2025 discussing the company’s strategy and her career. She described Iridium as a company focused on innovation and being prepared to pivot as the market evolves, noting that it is difficult to predict what 2035 will look like. McBride emphasized that Iridium’s business model is not about selling a low-cost, vanilla service, but rather a highly differentiated network. She highlighted a new project to connect standard cellular devices to satellite networks, calling it a "new concept in the industry" that no one has done at scale yet, and described it as "incredibly transformational" and a "tremendous opportunity." McBride also discussed the importance of owning intellectual property, calling it "the keys to the kingdom" and critical for competitive advantage. She noted that Iridium’s supply chain team performed well during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the company has balanced just-in-time inventory with risk management. In a 2024 interview, she stated that Iridium is the "original constellation company" and has evolved from a businessman’s telephone system to support IoT, maritime, and broadband markets. She also commented on the Satelles acquisition, saying the biggest challenge is addressing the reliance on GPS in banking and communications, and that Iridium’s broadcasting signal is about 1,000 times stronger than GPS, making it suitable for critical infrastructure.
“It's about innovation and it's about being prepared to be able to do those pivots to be able to do those shifts that are needed. Seeing how where the world evolves in the next 10 to 15 years, right? It's really hard to predict exactly what 2035 is going to look like and it's all about ensuring that what we're building...”
“I think that's important for us. I think that's more important to me is not just the what, but it's it's the how we're going to get there and ensuring that we do that every step we take that we keep that openness for the future.”
“We're currently working on one together right now which is incredibly transformational and that's supporting cellular devices connecting to satellite networks. This is a new concept in the industry. There's some work going on. No one's done it at scale. No one's done it very well yet and we have this opportunity to do...”
“IP is the key to your differentiation ongoing. We're not selling a vanilla service at the lowest cost. That's not our business model. We're really a highly differentiated network and a highly differentiated service. So IP is critical to that.”
“We have to create new ways of approaching this. It was a very different business case. Innovation's been in our bones going into the short burst data messaging and in IoT markets and creating that.”
“Rather than just the devices that we build together and sell to our partners, we can take any cellular device and connect our network and that's going to open whole new opportunities at different price points, different kinds of services and different kinds of partnerships as well because there's billions and billions...”
“It's important that we continue to keep that innovation going. It is a very competitive market and lots of changes are happening right now.”
“We started with the idea that you could build a satellite network that was global that would allow a person to go anywhere in the world and have access to communications. They could talk to their loved ones, they could do business. That was a transformational notion and it was almost impossible.”
“We don't sell a vanilla service at the lowest cost. That's not our business model. We're really a highly differentiated network and a highly differentiated service.”
“The developer kit was done with the vision of being fast and creative. We want it to be super easy for anybody to use whether you're a startup or a big established company that can take it, bring it out, put things together and within minutes or hours, you can actually test a solution.”
“We don't know yet what the next constellation is going to look like in the 2030s and beyond. It's really more about the business at the end of the day. What services we need to provide. There's so much that has changed over the years and will continue to change.”
“IP is critical for our competitive advantage and to help us understand what is the critical piece that we need to own versus what's not as important. It's been important working with partners to ensure that we do own and control our IP because it's our business and that's where we need to control.”
“I mean those I say those are the keys to the kingdom right like this is what runs our our business and that is critical for our competitive advantage and also help us understand what is the critical piece right that we need to own versus what's not as important.”
“And that was obviously one of the go for anytime we do business with partners is going to be who owns the IP where's the right lines and for us it's very clear and easy.”
“We're a technology company a technology industry to just build on what Susie said this workshop and a lot of our discussions about the future aren't just grounded on what's the technology options are because you really want to start from what's happening in the industry what's happening in the market what are the techn...”
How do you leverage radical science and engineering to create genuine business value and stay ahead of the game?
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South Summit 2020 Telecom & IT Services conversation with: - Lee Newman, Dean - IE University - Suzi McBride, CEO - Iridium.... me because these are two very special people so let's start susan mcbride susan mcbride is the chief operating officer at iridium ...
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Iridium COO Suzi McBride delivered a keynote speech at the second annual Satellite Eves: Women in Space event during ...
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