Genie Chaiken Named Winner of Women in MilSatCom Innovation Award

Genie Chaiken, Director of Command Strategy, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR), US Department of the Navy, collecting the award from Helen Weedon, Director, Satcoms Innovation Group.

The Satcoms Innovation Group (SIG) and SAE Media Group have announced the winner of the inaugural Women in MilSatCom Innovation Award, Genie Chaiken. Genie is Director of Command Strategy, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR), US Department of the Navy. The award recognises women who are innovators across the military satellite communication industry.

The award was presented by SIG’s Managing Director, Helen Weedon, at the Women in MilSatCom Forum, during the Global MilSatCom Conference, in London. The Women in MilSatCom Forum provides a platform for women in the industry to share triumphs, strengthen networks, unlock knowledge and discover new opportunities.

Genie defies traditional government obstacles of slow technology adoption through her strengths at building powerful partnerships with industry and her ability to identify and fast track the promising innovative SATCOM breakthroughs. She led the way in the Navy engaging industry to optimize and modernize its protected capabilities. Through her leadership and tenacity, she helped identify, test and validate commercial capabilities that are now poised to give the US Navy resiliency across multiple orbits and bands. She has implemented innovative approaches that speed deployment of new capability to Navy ships at a rate never seen in Navy history.

Victoria Ayuso, Production Manager - Defence, SAE, commented: “There are some remarkable women working in MilSatCom and with this award, we’ve had the honour of highlighting their excellence. I hope that by shining a light on their achievements, we inspire other women to embark on a career in MilSatCom.”

Helen Weedon, Managing Director, SIG, added: “I’m delighted to have presented the first Women in MilSatCom Innovation Award, celebrating and recognising the incredible women who are innovators in MilSatCom. The nominations were all of the highest calibre which made deciding on a winner extremely difficult for the judges, however Genie is clearly a deserving winner, having shown excellent leadership and outstanding innovation. Congratulations!”

To view the full shortlist, visit the SIG page here