Suzie McBride from Iridium Communications
About Suzanne Mcbride
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.