David Margolese

David Margolese (born October 24, 1957) is an Israeli entrepreneur, philanthropist, and co-founder of Sirius XM Radio,[4] serving as chairman and CEO from 1993 to 2002.[5] Considered "one of the earliest advocates of pay radio,"[6] he "effectively created the industry."[1]

David Margolese
Margolese on the Red Sea in 2012.
Born (1957-10-24) October 24, 1957
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityIsraeli
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
(dropped out)
OccupationCo-founder, Chairman & CEO,
Sirius XM Radio
Co-founder,
Rogers Wireless
Years active1978–2003
Spouse(s)
Faranak Margolese
​
​
(m. 2000; div. 2017)​
[1][2]
Michal Margolese
​
(m. 2019)​
[3]
Children3

Early life

Margolese was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] He attended the University of British Columbia, dropping out after one year.[1] His father, Leonard, also dropped out of college, to sell television sets in the early 1950s, ultimately building a successful television store.[1]

Cellular

Rogers Wireless

In 1978, at the age of 20, Margolese founded Canadian Telecom, a Vancouver-based radio paging company.[7] He struggled in his early years as an entrepreneur.[1] In 1980, he changed his company's focus to what would become the future cellular market. He prognosticated in his 1980 position paper, years before the commercial introduction of cellular and at a time when computers were in use by less than one percent of the public, that cellular "has the potential to become all pervasive." He also envisioned that it would "be used for much more" than just phone calls.[8] When cell phones became widely available, it paid big dividends for Margolese.[9][10] His company joined with Rogers Communications to form Cantel (a contraction of the name Canadian Telecom). Cantel would ultimately become Rogers Wireless,[7] as of 2012 the largest cellular company in Canada, with over 9.3 million subscribers and revenues over $7 billion.[11][12] Margolese cashed out of the company in 1989 to found his next venture.[7]

Satellite radio

Sirius XM Radio

Following a brief, unsuccessful stint in Israel struggling to land a license for his new cellular consortium Teletec,[1] Margolese moved to New York City in 1990 and purchased control of a newly formed venture named CD Radio Inc.[13][14] He served as chairman and CEO of the satellite radio company.[6] Margolese believed that, like cable TV, satellite radio would find an audience willing to pay for variety.[9][10]

The primary obstacle faced by CD Radio and then Sirius was resistance from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who were under pressure from the National Association of Broadcasters, who felt threatened by the competition.[6] In 1997, the FCC granted both CD Radio and XM Satellite Radio licenses to use a part of the S-band spectrum, costing CD Radio $83 million.[1][7]

In 1999, Margolese changed the name of CD Radio to Sirius Satellite Radio, so as not to be identified with the outdated technology of compact discs.[15] Margolese raised $1.8 billion to launch Sirius.[16][17] Some of the money was obtained by gaining exclusive rights from Ford, Chrysler, BMW and Mercedes-Benz to feature Sirius in their automobiles.[5][18]

Along with co-founder and former NASA engineer Robert Briskman, Margolese oversaw the development of the custom satellites, receivers and other technologies to bring satellite radio to consumers.[15][19] Margolese also designed Sirius's $40 million headquarters at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.[7] According to Margolese, each satellite cost about a quarter-billion dollars to build, insure and launch.[20] At the end of 2000, Sirius launched its third satellite into space, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.[7]

In November 2001, Margolese stepped down as CEO, remaining as chairman until November 2003, with Sirius issuing a statement thanking him "for his great vision, leadership and dedication in creating both Sirius and the satellite radio industry."[21][22][23] Sirius acquired XM in 2008, becoming Sirius XM Radio.[24] Through 2013, Sirius XM has reported 25.6 million subscribers, up 7% from the previous year, and revenues of $3.8 billion, up 12% from the previous year.[25] In 2012, one of Sirius's original backup satellites, now decommissioned, was donated for display to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.[26]

Honors

Margolese was named one of ten finalists for the 1999 Entrepreneur of the Year by Harvard Business School.[27] He was inducted into NASA's Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2002.[8][28]

Personal life

In 2002, Margolese moved to Israel, fulfilling a lifelong dream.[1]

References
  1. Simon Houpt, "Radio Flyer," Report On Business Magazine, September 2001, pp. 14-16.
  2. "David Margolese, who works with Asa Caesar" Tivo News. May 21, 2018.
  3. "Gratitude during Coronavirus". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  4. Andrea Adelson, "Satellite Radio's Bet on Dissatisfied Listeners," The New York Times, July 30, 2001.
  5. Michael Wolff, "Cruise Control," New York, September 25, 2000, pp. 30-32.
  6. Paul Farhi, "Music From the Spheres," The Washington Post, May 19, 1997.
  7. Bethany McLean, "Satellite Killed The Radio Star," Fortune, January 22, 2001, pp. 94-100.
  8. Caroline Van Hasselt, High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire That Debt Built, Mississauga, Ontario: John Wiley & Sons, 2008, Chapters 12 and 14.
  9. Katy Bachman, "Space Invaders: The Next Wave," Mediaweek, April 12, 1999.
  10. Bary, Andrew (22 December 1997). "Siren Song". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. Ian Hardy, "Rogers Q2 2012: Wireless subscriber base reaches 9.351 million, revenue increases 1%," Mobile Syrup, July 24, 2012.
  12. Hugh Thompson, "Rogers reports year end results," Digital Home, February 18, 2011.
  13. Peter Passell, "Coast-to-Coast Radio Without Squawk or Fade," The New York Times, November 27, 1994.
  14. "Business Unusual" (transcript), CNN, August 6, 2000.
  15. Steve Warren, Radio: The Book, 4th Edition, Burlington, MA: Focal Press, 2005, p. 166.
  16. Chris Jordan, "For More And More Music Fans, Satellite Radio Is Heaven Sent," MTV.com, February 5, 2002.
  17. Nancy Dillon, "CEO Leaves New York Satellite Radio Company," New York Daily News, October 17, 2001.
  18. Charles Graeber, "Radio Star Rising," Wired, February 2001.
  19. Nancy Dillon, "Beaming Radio Into High-Tech Fast Lane," New York Daily News, June 5, 2000.
  20. Tim Moran, "The Space Race for Satellite Radio Is Picking Up Speed," The New York Times, September 22, 2000.
  21. "David Margolese Steps Down as Sirius CEO," PRNewswire, October 16, 2001.
  22. David Hinckley, "Satellite Entry Grabs Early Lead," New York Daily News, October 20, 2001.
  23. Kenneth Hein, "Scott Greenstein, Sirius Satellite Radio," Adweek, October 10, 2005.
  24. Eliot Van Buskirk, "Sirius, XM Complete Merger," Wired, July 29, 2008.
  25. Georg Szalai, "Sirius XM Reports Record Quarterly Revenue," The Hollywood Reporter, February 4, 2014.
  26. "Sirius FM-4 Broadcasting Satellite Donated to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum," newsdesk.si.edu, October 18, 2012.
  27. "Harvard Business School Club Selects David C. McCourt, Chairman/CEO of RCN Corporation, as Top Entrepreneur," CosmoCom press release, February 22, 1999.
  28. "Satellite Radio Technology". spacefoundation.org. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
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