Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced the appointment of Dr. Theresa Wise to its Board of Directors. Dr. Wise will serve as a Class I Director, with an initial term expiring at the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. With the appointment of Dr. Wise, the Board now consists of eight members, six of whom are independent directors.

Dr. Wise is chief executive officer and principal for Utaza, LLC, a business advisory group focused on executive information technology (IT) strategy, customer-centric data analytics, mathematical modeling and revenue optimization. Prior, Dr. Wise served as senior vice president and chief information officer (CIO) of Delta Air Lines. During her tenure with Delta, she led a team of more than 2,000 professionals focused on leveraging technology solutions to enhance the customer experience. Before Delta, Dr. Wise held a number of positions at Northwest Airlines Corporation, serving as CIO, overseeing the airline's IT group until Northwest merged with Delta.

Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of Viasat commented, "We welcome Theresa to Viasat's Board of Directors. Theresa has an impressive background leading major technology, business and customer-centric integration programs while working in the aviation industry. Her expertise, perspectives and proven experience in applying IT strategy and data analytics to advance end-user experiences will be extremely valuable as Viasat continues to build its global business across vertical market sectors like aviation and maritime, and across geographies that are both developed and in emerging markets."

Dr. Wise received a B.A. degree in mathematics and chemistry from St. Olaf College and Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in applied math from Cornell University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Impinj, Inc., a manufacturer of radio-frequency identification devices and software; TCF Financial Corporation, a financial services company; and MISO Energy, an independent, not-for-profit organization that delivers safe, cost-effective electric power across 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba.