Retired Vice Chairman
Dorfman is the retired vice chairman of Hughes Electronics Corporation. During his time at Hughes, he served as CEO of Hughes Space and Communications Company, the world’s leading builder of communication satellites; Hughes Communication, a leading owner and operator of communication satellites; and Hughes Telecommunications and Space, a unit responsible for the above businesses plus the international development of DirecTV. After retiring from Hughes, Dorfman was the Hunsaker Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Dorfman has served on the boards of Hughes, Raytheon, PanAmSat, American Mobile Satellite, Galaxy Latin America, JCSAT, DirecTV, Galaxy Classroom and HRL Laboratories. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has served on advisory committees for NASA, FCC, USIA, the Department of Transportation, USC’s School of Engineering and the National Research Council. Among Dorfman’s awards are the Distinguished Public Service Award, NASA’s highest award, and Via Satellite’s 1995 Satellite Executive of the Year.