Candace Johnson Candace Johnson is a serial entrepreneur and a global infrastructure, network and innovation expert. She is a founder of SES, the world’s pre-eminent satellite group and initiated, conceived and architected SES Global for which she was bestowed the Commander of Merit by the Government of Luxembourg. She is also founding President of Europe Online Investments S.A., the world’s first internet-based online service and satellite broadband network, and founder of Loral Cyberstar-Teleport Europe, Europe’s first independent private trans-border satellite communications network. Ms. Johnson is also founding President of the VATM, the Association of Private Telecom Operators in Germany and founding President of the Global Telecom Women’s Network (GTWN). Recently, she was elected to the Presidency of EBAN, the European Business Angel and Early-Stage Investment Network for a two-year period of office.
Ms. Johnson is President of Johnson Paradigm Ventures (JPV) which is a principal founding shareholder with AXA, Caisse des Depots, Bayerische Landesbank, and the SPEF of Sophia Euro Lab, Europe’s first trans-border early-stage investment company based in Sophia Antipolis. JPV is also a principal founding shareholder in London-based Ariadne Capital, “Architecting Europe.net”, one of the earliest supporters and promoters of Skype, the global VoIP phenomenon. Ms. Johnson has served as Founding Member of the Boards of both companies.
Ms. Johnson is founding Member and was President of the Board of the Sophia Business Angels in Sophia Antipolis, France from 2006 – 2008 as well as founding president of three multi-million Euro early stage investment vehicles, Succès Europe, Croissance Europe and Innovation Europe funding TMT, Med-Tech and Clean-Tech.
Ms. Johnson is a Non –Executive Director of SES-ESL, a publicly quoted corporation on the French Stock Exchange as well as a member of the Advisory Board of numerous European and US ventures.
Ms. Johnson has been decorated as Commander of the Luxembourg Order of Merit and Officer of the Couronne de la Chene as well as Officer of the Bundesverdienst Kreuz 1. Klasse (Germany) for her work in de-regulation, innovation, privatization, and globalization. Further, Ms. Johnson is the second recipient ever of the UN-sponsored World Teleport Associations’ “Founders Award”. Ms. Johnson has also received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” along with Vinton Cerf and Tim Berners Lee from the World Communication Awards, the prestigious global telecoms organization in 2002. Ms. Johnson holds Masters Degrees with Honors from the Sorbonne and Stanford Universities, a Bachelors Degree from Vassar College and her high-school degree from Punahou, Honolulu, Hawaii.