Mr. Ergen was appointed Chairman of the Board in December 2023 effective with the merger of EchoStar and DISH Network Corporation. Prior to the merger between EchoStar and DISH Network Corporation, Mr. Ergen served as the Chairman of both EchoStar and DISH Network Corporation’s Board of Directors. Mr. Ergen is our Chairman of the Board. In 2001, Mr. Ergen was the first person to ever win the Rocky Mountain News' Business Person of the Year for a second time, being recognized for the same award in 1996. Mr. Ergen was named to the Forbes Magazine Top Ten CEO's list and as the Frost & Sullivan 2001 CEO of the Year for Satellite Industry. In 2000, Aviation Week Magazine named him Space Industry Business Man of the Year. In June 1991, INC. Magazine named him Master Entrepreneur of the Year for the Rocky Mountain region. In 1988, he received the Home Satellite TV Association Star Award. Mr. Ergen was instrumental in fighting for consumer rights with the passage of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act in 1999 which gave American consumers the right to watch local TV channels via satellite. He has also testified before Congress regarding other video competition issues on numerous occasions and was a co-founder of the Satellite Broadcasting Communications Association.