Gary Chase, former senior vice president of operational finance at Delta Air Lines, has joined Viasat as the company’s chief financial officer.
In the new role, Chase aims to leverage his experience working with “scaled operational financial systems” to drive monetary and manufacturing growth throughout Viasat, the global communications company announced Wednesday.
Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of Viasat, said, “Gary’s extensive operational experience, and his perspective as a Viasat customer, make him well positioned to increase financial and operational automation and rigor, and sharpen our focus on cash generation and Inmarsat integration.”
“He will play a pivotal financial and business oversight role for Viasat, with emphasis on data systems architecture and linking operational and financial metrics, delivering efficiencies and optimizing our capital structure to create value for our employees, customers and shareholders,” Dankberg added.
While working at Delta Air Lines for over 12 years, Chase led numerous critical initiatives, including financial planning and analysis, investor relations, and corporate strategies. He also served as Delta’s chief strategy officer.
Chase said he is excited to be part of Viasat’s team during such a pivotal time in the company’s trajectory.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Viasat’s businesses and its global mission of delivering safety and connectivity to customers in the air, at sea, and on land,” Chase stated. “I look forward to partnering with Mark, Guru, Shawn and the rest of the leadership team to further advance the finance function and its support for Viasat’s strategic initiatives and shareholder value creation.”
Chase will succeed Shawn Duffy, who will stay on as chief accounting officer. The appointment will be effective Sept. 16.