Douglas County-based EchoStar Communications Corp. said Monday it has named vice chairman Carl Vogel to the post of president.
Vogel, 48, returns to the position he held nine years ago. He was president of Echo Star from 1994 to 1997 and was part of the team that launched the company’s Dish Network satellite-TV service in 1996. He left the company in 1997.
The appointment is effective immediately, said EchoStar officials in a written statement. Vogel has been sharing the president’s role with EchoStar’s chief technical officer, Michael Dugan – also a former president – since the abrupt departure of Michael Newman in February. Dugan retired in 2004 but returned as chief technical officer last December.
Vogel returned to EchoStar’s board of directors in May 2005 and was named vice chairman a month later. Prior to that, he was president and chief executive of cable-TV provider Charter Communications.
Vogel’s industry credits include running AT&T Broadband’s high-speed data unit and senior vice president at Douglas County-based Liberty Media Corp.
While at Liberty, Vogel served as CEO of ICG, a bankrupt telecom company controlled by Liberty. Vogel resigned after a month on the job, after discovering severe flaws in ICG’s network.
Vogel will report to EchoStar co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen.
“I think that this helps firm up the relationship between (Vogel and Ergen). It speaks volumes to Charlie’s mellowing and maturity, both to his selection of Carl and Carl’s acceptance of the presidency,” said Jimmy Schaeffler, senior multichannel analyst for The Carmel Group.
“It’s a good thing for both men and the company,” he said. “Where Charlie can go out and create the strategies, Carl can bring the common sense and some of the financial backing to make it happen.”
EchoStar also announced that Bernard L. Han will take over as chief financial officer, effective Sept. 28, replacing David J. Rayner. Rayner “will assume the new role of executive vice president in charge of the company’s national installation and service network,” according to the company’s statement.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
