David Margolese (born October 24, 1957) is an Israeli entrepreneur, philanthropist, and co-founder of
Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
, serving as chairman and CEO from 1993 to 2002.
[Michael Wolff]
"Cruise Control,"
''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'', September 25, 2000, pp. 30-32. Considered "one of the earliest advocates of pay radio,"
[Paul Farhi]
"Music From the Spheres,"
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', May 19, 1997. he "effectively created the industry."
[Simon Houpt]
"Radio Flyer,"
'' Report On Business Magazine'', September 2001, pp. 14-16.
Early life
Margolese was born and raised in
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.
He attended the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, dropping out after one year.
His father, Leonard, also dropped out of college, to sell television sets in the early 1950s, ultimately building a successful television store.
Cellular
Rogers Wireless
In 1978, at the age of 20, Margolese founded Canadian Telecom, a Vancouver-based radio paging company.
[Bethany McLean]
"Satellite Killed The Radio Star,"
''Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'', January 22, 2001, pp. 94-100. He struggled in his early years as an entrepreneur.
In 1980, he changed his company's focus to what would become the future cellular market. He prognosticated in his 1980 position paper, years before the commercial introduction of cellular and at a time when computers were in use by less than one percent of the public, that cellular "has the potential to become all pervasive." He also envisioned that it would "be used for much more" than just phone calls.
[Caroline Van Hasselt]
''High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire That Debt Built''
Mississauga, Ontario: John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
, 2008, Chapters 12 and 14. When cell phones became widely available, it paid big dividends for Margolese.
[Katy Bachman, "Space Invaders: The Next Wave," '']Mediaweek
''Mediaweek'' is an online trade website serving the Australian media industry. It provides news regarding the Australian newspaper, television, radio, magazine and outdoor advertising
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, also called outdoor adv ...
'', April 12, 1999. His company joined with
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...
to form Cantel (a contraction of the name Canadian Telecom). Cantel would ultimately become
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless telephone company headquartered in Toronto, providing service nationally throughout Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The company had revenues of ...
,
as of 2012 the largest cellular company in Canada, with over 9.3 million subscribers and revenues over $7 billion. Margolese cashed out of the company in 1989 to found his next venture.
Satellite radio
Sirius XM Radio
Following a brief, unsuccessful stint in Israel struggling to land a license for his new cellular consortium Teletec,
Margolese moved to New York City in 1990 and purchased control of a newly formed venture named CD Radio Inc. He served as chairman and CEO of the satellite radio company.
Margolese believed that, like cable TV, satellite radio would find an audience willing to pay for variety.
The primary obstacle faced by CD Radio and then Sirius was resistance from the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC), who were under pressure from the
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
, who felt threatened by the competition.
In 1997, the FCC granted both CD Radio and
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...
licenses to use a part of the
S-band spectrum, costing CD Radio $83 million.
In 1999, Margolese changed the name of CD Radio to
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings.
Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...
, so as not to be identified with the outdated technology of compact discs.
[Steve Warren]
''Radio: The Book''
4th Edition, Burlington, MA: Focal Press
Focal Press is a publisher of creative and applied media books and it is an imprint of Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
Company history
The firm was founded in London in 1938 by Andor Kraszna-Krausz, a Hungarian photographer who migrated to England ...
, 2005, p. 166. Margolese raised $1.8 billion to launch Sirius. Some of the money was obtained by gaining exclusive rights from
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
,
BMW and
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
to feature Sirius in their automobiles.
Along with co-founder and former
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
engineer
Robert Briskman
Robert D. Briskman (born October 15, 1932) is Technical Executive of Sirius XM Radio.
He was the Chief Technical Officer and Executive Vice President, Engineering of Sirius Satellite Radio since its founding in 1991.
Briskman has been involved ...
, Margolese oversaw the development of the custom satellites, receivers and other technologies to bring satellite radio to consumers.
Margolese also designed Sirius's $40 million headquarters at
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...
in Manhattan.
According to Margolese, each satellite cost about a quarter-billion dollars to build, insure and launch. At the end of 2000, Sirius launched its third satellite into space, from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.
In November 2001, Margolese stepped down as CEO, remaining as chairman until November 2003, with Sirius issuing a statement thanking him "for his great vision, leadership and dedication in creating both Sirius and the satellite radio industry." Sirius acquired XM in 2008, becoming
Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
. Through 2013, Sirius XM has reported 25.6 million subscribers, up 7% from the previous year, and revenues of $3.8 billion, up 12% from the previous year. In 2012, one of Sirius's original backup satellites, now decommissioned, was donated for display to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
.
Honors
Margolese was named one of ten finalists for the 1999 Entrepreneur of the Year by
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
. He was inducted into NASA's
Space Technology Hall of Fame
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually conside ...
in 2002.
Personal life
In 2002, Margolese moved to Israel, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margolese, David
Living people
1957 births
Businesspeople from Vancouver
Canadian Jews
Canadian radio executives
Canadian radio company founders
Canadian emigrants to Israel
Israeli Jews
Businesspeople in telecommunications
Rogers Communications
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius XM
University of British Columbia alumni