CEO@Smith Speaker Series

Ted Leonsis, Chairman and Majority Holder
Washington Capitals, Washington Mystics and Lincoln Holdings, LLC
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011 at 6 p.m.
1524 Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742

Ted Leonsis is known as one of the country's premier businessmen and a pioneer in the Internet industry, holding numerous leadership positions at AOL in his 15-year tenure, including vice chairman and president. He currently serves as AOL’s vice chairman emeritus. He is a professional sports team owner; founder and chairman of Web 2.0 start-up SnagFilms; chairman and investor in Clearspring Technologies and Revolution Money; a film producer; a private-angel investor; an active board member; and a committed philanthropist.

Leonsis is the founder, chairman and majority owner of Lincoln Holdings LLC, a sports and entertainment company that holds ownership rights in several Washington, D.C., entities, including 100% of the Washington Capitals and the WNBA's Washington Mystics. Lincoln Holdings also owns approximately 44% of Washington Sports and Entertainment Limited Partnership (WSELP), which owns the NBA's Washington Wizards, the Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. Ticketmaster franchise.

Among his many honors, Leonsis has been named “Washington's Businessman of the Year”, a “Washingtonian of the Year”, one of the 20 most influential people in sports, one of America's most creative executives, and a top-10 entrepreneur of the year. Leonsis blogs daily at TedsTake.com.

Pradman Kaul, President & CEO of Hughes Network Systems
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Frank Auditorium, Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742

Pradman P. Kaul is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Communications, Inc. Hughes is the world’s leading supplier of broadband satellite services and network solutions using interactive Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) products. With annual revenues of over $1 billion, Hughes provides satellite-based enterprise and consumer services and networks, mobile satellite networks and terminals, and broadband LMDS point-to-multipoint systems. Headquartered in Germantown, Md., Hughes has offices in 11 countries and customers in over 100 countries.

Kaul also continues as Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HNS). Before joining Hughes, Mr. Kaul worked at COMSAT Laboratories in Clarksburg, Md.

After earning a BS in electrical engineering from George Washington University, Kaul went on to earn a MS in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He holds numerous patents and has published articles and papers on a variety of technical topics concerning satellite communications.
In Oct. 2004, Kaul was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. He was selected as a “Distinguished Engineering Alumnus” of the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 and “Distinguished Alumnus” at George Washington University in 2005. In 2000, he was awarded the IEEE Third Millennium medal, and in 2009 was both inducted into the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) Hall of Fame and awarded “Satellite Executive of the Year 2008” by Via Satellite magazine.