Walter Scott: Analytics and Monitoring Drive DigitalGlobe Growth
DigitalGlobe has had amazing stock performance of greater than 22 percent growth over the past five years and nearly 30 percent growth over the past year. Sensors & Systems (S&S) special correspondent Matteo Luccio spoke with Dr. Walter Scott, founder and CTO of DigitalGlobe, about the path the company has taken to achieve this growth as well as the technology roadmap going forward. The proposed merger with GeoEye is still undergoing regulatory approval, so the focus here is on the fundamental value of satellite imagery for monitoring and analysis.
S&S: You studied and worked at Harvard, UC Berkelely, and Lawrence Livermore. How has that background helped you shape your vision for DigitalGlobe and to recruit talent?
Scott: You are the first person who has ever asked me that question. It’s a good question because in many respects it gets at what I learned in that period of time. I learned just how valuable good people are — people who are capable of tackling hard problems and of thinking outside the box — and just how amazingly effective teams of people can be.