Mary-Louise Hoffman
Executives from Boeing, Intelsat and SpaceX and SSL Federal gathered Tuesday at the National Space Symposium to discuss government innovation and industry consolidation trends in light of the current fiscal environment, Defense News reported Monday.
Aaron Mehta writes that Kay Sears, president of Intelsat General, told the forum audience that spending cuts have actually resulted in healthy dialogues at the Pentagon.
“I think reduced budgets really make organizations and governments think really hard about where they spend [and] how they spend,†Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president and chief operating officer, said during a panel discussion at event, according to Defense News.
Aerospace companies worked to find new business opportunities amid the budget situation and some executives think the fiscal environment could also drive market consolidation, the report says.
“I think in most cases it would be divestitures of some business units that create opportunities for acquisitions for other companies,” said SSL Federal President Erik Spittle, according to Mehta’s article.
Mehta reports that Craig Cooning, Boeing vice president and general manager of space and intelligence systems, said the company is constantly looking at businesses that would complement its existing portfolio.
