New York – David Margolese, chief executive officer of Sirius Satellite Radio, resigned today.
The company said in a prepared statement that his duties will be assumed, on an interim basis, by an Office of the Chief Executive consisting of John J. Scelfo, Senior VP/chief financial officer, and Patrick L. Donnelly, senior VP/general counsel. Margolese will remain as non-executive chairman of the board.
A statement from the board said a search for a new CEO is being conducted, “with the help of Spencer Stuart, and is well under way. Our new CEO will complete Sirius’ final transition from a development stage enterprise to an exciting entertainment company that will revolutionize radio.”
Sirius also announced today that at the end of this month it will expand in-vehicle testing of its service to six additional markets. This vehicle testing is designed to complete the evaluation of all aspects of the company’s product and transmission, distribution and system capabilities, including retail sales support, installation, subscriber management and billing, customer service and communications.
This phase is the final element of Sirius’ comprehensive test program, after which the company expects to determine its commercial launch date, which had previously been scheduled for year-end. Sirius will update investors on the status of its commercial launch on a public conference call on Wednesday, November 14. Conference call details will be announced separately.
As of September 30, 2001, Sirius had cash on hand, including restricted investments, of $392 million, sufficient funds to operate well into the fourth quarter 2002, the company said.
Arch-rival XM Satellite Radio launched its service September 25 in Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego, where it is being sold by Best Buy, Good Guys and Tweeter, as well as others.
