Las Vegas (NV) – CTIA, the industry organization backing the cellphone industry, said that its vice president Mark Desautels¸ died from a heart attack while attending the association’s trade show, International CTIA Wireless 2009.
“Mark has been an outstanding employee since joining the association in 1998, and was a dear friend and valuable colleague to all of us here at CTIA and to many in the wireless industry,” said CEO Steve Largent in a statement. “His insight and forward-thinking were tremendous assets as he led several key industry business development initiatives, and I know he will be missed terribly. On behalf of CTIA – The Wireless Association’s staff and our members, we send our condolences to his family, especially his three daughters Alexandra, Meredith, and Theresa. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.”
No further details were provided on the death of the 56-year old executive. Desautels joined CTIA in 1998 and oversaw the activities of the Wireless Internet Caucus. Desautels also developed the educational sessions and selected speakers for the association’s two annual trade shows. Before joing CTIA, Desautels was president and CEO of the Wireless Data Forum, and prior to that, he was Assistant to the Director, Office of Intergovernmental Relations, Congressional Budget Office (CBO), where he was the agency press spokesperson and chief liaison officer.
