The World Trade Center Institute
Congratulates Telenor’s Britt Carina Horncastle on her recognition as a
Maryland International Business Leadership Award Winner
Baltimore, Maryland, March 1, 2006 - Britt Carina Horncastle, President and CEO of Telenor Satellite Services Holdings, Inc. (TSSH), was recently selected as a winner of Maryland's 2006 International Business Leadership Awards. The award is presented annually to an individual within a Maryland company who has led his or her company to new global heights, demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit, determination, creativity and the cultural sensitivity that global business demands.
Telenor Satellite Services Holdings, Inc. is a subsidiary of Telenor ASA of Norway - an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communications services. It is one of Norway’s largest companies with 2005 revenues of approximately $10.1 billion and a workforce of more than 20,000.
Telenor Satellite Services was established in the U.S. in 2002 and has quickly established a foothold in Maryland and the nation. As a major provider of communications via satellite, it serves users on land, at sea and in flight. Over 40% of their business comes from the U.S. government. TSSH employs 100 people at its Rockville headquarters in Maryland. Telenor Satellite Services globally employs over 550 people.
While Telenor has operations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, it has found camaraderie with other Maryland based companies. In fact, Telenor works closely with ARINC (a 2005 Maryland International Business Leadership Award winner) to provide aeronautical satellite communications for cockpit and crew and passengers.
“I am delighted by the selection of Telenor Satellite Services and its president, Britt Carina Horncastle, as a recipient of the World Trade Center Institute’s 2006 International Leadership Award. ARINC and Telenor have forged a longstanding business relationship that serves the global aviation industry by offering essential and reliable satellite communications for aircraft in flight around the world,” noted John Belcher, ARINC CEO. “The ARINC – Telenor partnership that provides global aeronautical communications is model of success of two local organizations combining their capabilities to serve the global marketplace.”
Britt Carina Horncastle has served as the President and CEO of this substantial operation since its inception in Maryland in 2002. She is responsible for overseeing the development and expansion of all Telenor Satellite Services business operations and subsidiaries in the United States. She takes a particular interest in developing the strategy and emerging business that brings together the Telenor communications platforms for satellite, remote communications, and broadband technologies on a global basis. Under her leadership, revenue has grown from approximately $93 million in 2002 to $155 million in 2005.
“Britt Carina Horncastle can be defined by the tenacity necessary to acquire and consolidate an enterprise such as Telenor, but perhaps more by the ability to weed through the government roadblocks she encountered in actually allowing such a foreign-owned enterprise to deal with the U.S. Government,” believes Gary Collins, Senior Vice President of Bank of America and member of the WTCI Review Committee.
Telenor expects to see tremendous growth within the maritime industry and in the humanitarian sector and emergency relief aid sector. Among their many clients are the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy. “Our company growth comes from demand for bandwidth and connectivity,” says Horncastle, “We understand what it means to be at sea.” They evaluate these needs and develop new ways for deployed sailors to be in contact with their families. The company also is looking at ways to expand their relations with FEMA, Catholic Relief Services, the American Red Cross and other humanitarian and international development and relief aid organizations.
Britt Carina Horncastle is a true UN child. Her father, a Norwegian UN civil servant and diplomat and her mother, also from Norway, traveled the globe. Horncastle, born in the US, has dual US / Norwegian citizenship and has also spent her life traveling the world. She grew up in South East Asia and Norway spent over ten years in Africa and a great deal of time in the UK.
Horncastle earned a post graduate degree in Political Science, studied law at the University of Oslo, and holds a graduate degree in International Economics, Finance and Administration from the University of Oslo. Horncastle has one daughter. She enjoys golf, painting, and horseback riding when she is not working.
Quotes about Britt Carina Horncastle:
Dan Goldberg, CEO of global satellite operator New Skies Satellites, said the following: "I was delighted to learn, though not the slightest bit surprised, that Britt Karina Horncastle has been selected as a winner of the 2006 Maryland International Business Leadership Awards. Britt is well known and highly regarded by those of us in the international satellite services industry. This industry has been dramatically transformed over the past 10 years, as former intergovernmental operators were privatized, competition intensified, and technological changes swept the communications sector. With her longstanding involvement in INTELSAT and INMARSAT, Britt was one of the pivotal players in driving the privatization of these former governmental entities into the more commercially oriented service providers they are today. As CEO of Telenor Satellite Services, she has dramatically grown the company and transformed it into what is universally recognized as a global leader in the satellite services industry. In sum Britt's deep experience in the satellite sector, her extensive track record as an international businessperson, and her strong leadership qualities and strategic vision make her a natural recipient of this important award."
Conny Kullman, Chairman & CEO, Intelsat
“As the CEO and now Chairman of Intelsat, I have known Britt-Carina for about 10 years. The first years she worked for Telenor in Oslo, Norway. Since Telenor is one of our largest customers, I often had contacts with Britt-Carina. She also sat on our Board for several years.
I think her key strength is her tenacity or determination. But she is also very constructive in her approach to problems and always tries to find solutions that work. I think she got these skills earlier in her career when she for a number off years worked in Africa. My team and I often were in negotiations with Telenor where they were represented by Britt-Carina. This was when we were changing the structure of Intelsat, and also when Telenor bought a large part of one of our satellites. She is a very strong negotiator and knows how to get a deal done - with as much advantage for Telenor as possible. She is well respected in the satellite industry by providers, customers and colleagues.
I believe that she also has built a strong business for Telenor after having moved to the USA. Again she has shown her determination to get things done. She thrives in the American business environment. And, if you ask her, I would not be surprised if she calls the USA her home country rather than Norway.
John Belcher, CEO, ARINC
“I am delighted by the selection of Telenor Satellite Services and its president, Britt Carina Horncastle, as a recipient of the World Trade Center Institute’s 2006 International Leadership Award. ARINC and Telenor have forged a longstanding business relationship that serves the global aviation industry by offering essential and reliable satellite communications for aircraft in flight around the world. The ARINC – Telenor partnership that provides global aeronautical communications is model of success of two local organizations combining their capabilities to serve the global marketplace.”
About WTCI:
Established in Baltimore in 1989 to help connect Maryland to the globe, today the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI) is the region’s premier private sector international business partner. Financed jointly by area businesses and the State of Maryland, WTCI operates as a non-profit membership organization.
More than 2,500 Maryland firms benefit from WTCI’s extensive global network, pragmatic international business programs and customized consulting. WTCI is a member of the World Trade Center Association, along with nearly 300 fellow World Trade Centers operating in major business cities around the world.
About the Event:
Date: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Time: 5:15 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location: Jim Rouse Visionary Center, a part of the American Visionary Arts Museum, 800 Key Highway, Baltimore, MD 21230
Refreshments/International Buffet/Latin Music Celebration
Cost: $100 WTCI members/$150 Non-members