RÉSUMÉ
Ernesto R. Martin

Summary

Trained as an aerospace engineer (MS, Caltech), Mr. Martin started his career as a propulsion scientist, but ended it on the finance and business side, running companies and consulting for companies big (GE) and small. He has been an adviser to government agencies (domestic and foreign), and did some of the pioneering work in the U.S. on high-power satellite television systems (like DirecTV) and high-definition television (HDTV).

Accomplishments

Mr. Martin's 30 year career spanned doing research on the effect of fuel slosh on the stability of a satellite (Hughes, which has built over 100 earth and inter-planetary satellites, acknowledged his contributions here) to investigating profit-related factors in satellite television systems to running a $36 million jet-engine business. He was a co-author of the space industry's Position Paper on the U.S.'s Capabilities on Liquid Rocket Propulsion and was twice quoted in London's Financial Times.

Education

BS Engineering, University of Florida, 1967 (High Honors)
MS Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1968
Graduate Management Courses, Harvard Bus. School, 1983

Employment

ConsultResearch Companies, 1998-2021
Mr. Martin founded ConsultResearch after retiring from 30 years in the satellite and jet engine businesses. Initial focus was on providing engineering, computer and business consulting to high-technology companies, but it was later expanded to include Internet services, export of high-tech gear, and design and construction of safe rooms in residences.

Amtec Companies, 1987-1998, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Acted as Chief Operating Officer of these $36 million jet engine and jet engine parts companies. Had responsibility for such departments as sales, accounting and engineering. Also acted as inside counsel (contracts, litigation) and CIO (computers, networks and databases), and led many of the negotiations resulting in the sale of the companies to the second largest firm in Sweden.

Comsat Corporation, 1968-1987, Vice President in 1987
This was the world's largest firm providing international satellite communications. Had increasingly responsible positions in R&D and engineering, spanning from rocketry to satellites to high definition television. Posted in Europe for 2 years with the European Space Agency. In the last 9 years also responsible for project management, sales, contracts, financing, strategic planning, governmental affairs and regulatory matters.

Murrays Auto Supply & Sav-on Auto Supply, 1961-1965
Before college Mr. Martin rose to head the Speed Equipment Department of Murrays, the largest in Miami, FL. He left to run Sav-on, and expanded the speed equipment business to modifying cars for racing. Although running the business was his main task, he contributed to the speed modifications and often tested his ideas on the race track.

Miscellaneous

Was Teaching Assistant at Caltech
Have been independent consultant to General Electric and an adviser to Cessna Aircraft
Worked on commercial and government programs (U.S. Navy, FAA)
Chaired committees advising the U.S. government, including the State Department
Co-authored the space industry's 1983 Position Paper "Liquid Rocket Propulsion:
An Evaluation of Our National Capability"
(if this PDF does not display, it was downloaded)
Published widely on satellite communications matters (see publications below)
Pioneered direct broadcast satellite (DBS) TV and HDTV in the U.S. (more details below)
Represented the U.S. in international diplomatic conferences
Quoted frequently in the press (e.g., London's Financial Times)
Taught seminars in China (3 times in Beijing, see medal), Kuwait, Canada, Mexico & throughout Europe
Managed several contract litigations, including a multi-country claim in South America
Fluent in Spanish

Contact

Phone (Mirror Image): 565-026-5503 E-mail: ermartin@consultresearch.com

Additional Information

Memberships (past & present): American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

Publications: A sampling is presented below, ranging from the dynamic stability of satellites, to profit-seeking techniques for direct broadcast satellite systems, to high-definition television. A more detailed list may be found here.

"Experimental Investigations on the Fuel Slosh of Dual-Spin Spacecraft" (if this PDF does not display, it was downloaded), COMSAT Technical Review, Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 1971. Similar paper presented at the AIAA Guidance, Control and Flight Mechanics Conference, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, August 1971 and available from AIAA here.

"DBS Systems - Perspectives From a Profit-Seeking Company", presented at the XXXVth International Astronautics Federation Conference, Lausanne, Switzerland, October 1984, and published in Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 9, No. 4, Fall 1984.

"High Definition Television - A DBS Perspective", Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, Vol. SAC-3, No. 1, January 1985.

Interests (Architecture and Flying): Mr. Martin has had a 40-year interest in architecture, has designed and supervised the construction of three residences, and has developed breakthrough concepts for safe rooms. He owned and flew three twin-engined Cessna 337 Skymaster aircraft over a 22-year period ending in 2021, including a round-trip from Miami to Boise, Idaho, but his most frequent flights were over Caribbean waters, where he once had to ditch his airplane when both engines quit (news coverage here). He has been an adviser to Cessna on Supplemental Inspection Documents (SIDs), is a webmaster of the Skymaster Owners and Pilots Association (www.337skymaster.com) and hosts a separate website (www.SkymasterUS.com) covering such technical topics as fuel management.

DBS and HDTV: Headed the systems engineering team that in 1981 designed the first DBS TV system for the U.S. (many of the parameters used by the current DirecTV system are based on the FCC filing for that system). In 1984 published the first paper analyzing the impact of various DBS systems designs on profits. In 1985 published the first paper which considered various high-definition television systems then under development and analyzed their performance (e.g., picture quality) versus the cost of the direct-broadcast satellites necessary to transmit such signals in the U.S.