Kudelski Group
Kudelski SA (SIX: KUD) is a Swiss company that sells digital television access and management systems, cybersecurity solutions, Internet of Things products, and public infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne. Kudelski's first successful product was the Nagra tape recorder, developed by founder and Polish researcher Stefan Kudelski.[1]
 | |
| Type | Société Anonyme |
|---|---|
| SIX: KUD | |
| Industry | Digital TV, public access, cybersecurity |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founder | Stefan Kudelski |
| Headquarters | Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland |
Key people |
|
| Revenue | 1'012'090 kUSD (2017) |
Number of employees | 3800 |
| Website | nagra.com |
André Kudelski, the son of founder Stefan Kudelski, became the chief executive officer in 1991.[2] The rest of the executive board includes chief financial officer Mauro Saladini, chief operating officer Morten Solbakken, and executive vice president Nancy Goldberg.[3]
History
Kudelski Group was founded in 1951 by Stefan Kudelski,[4] while he was an engineering student at a Swiss university. The company's first product was the Nagra I, a reel-to-reel tap recorder, which weighed 11 pounds and measured 5"x7"x12" (roughly the size of a shoe box). It was succeeded by the Nagra II in 1953, which improved sound quality with additional mechanical filters.[5]
Kudelski released the Nagra III tape recorder in 1958, which could synchronize sound with the frames on a reel of film, which became popular for on-location filming. It was used by directors including François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and D. A. Pennebaker.[4] The Nagra SN, or Série Noir, was released in 1970, which was originally designed for use by the United States Secret Service.[6] Kudelski later expanded into television services, providing its access control system for pay television to Canal+ in 1989.[7]
André Kudelski replaced his father, Stefan Kudelski, as chief executive officer in 1991 following pressure from investors.[2]
OpenTV, an internet and digital television company was fully acquired by the Kudelski Group on March 29, 2010.[8]
Subsidiaries
- SKIDATA, headquartered in Austria, manufactures access control systems and software for their management. SKIDATA provides turnstiles, admission ticketing, electronic ticketing systems, boom barriers, and other pedestrian and vehicular access control devices to ski resorts, parking lots, amusement parks, shopping malls, airports, and municipalities, among others.
- Nagravision is a developer of conditional access systems for cable and satellite television, and a number of other companies involved in the audio, Internet security, digital television, public access and smart card industries.
- OpenTV is a software company for interactive and digital television. Its primary business is the sale of set-top-box operating systems and software as well as digital advertising products.
- Kudelski Security is an international cybersecurity company, with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.
- SmarDTV is designing Set-Top boxes and CAM Modules.
References
- Vitello, Paul (2013-02-01). "Stefan Kudelski, Polish Inventor of Recorder That Changed Hollywood, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- "The Next Big Bet". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- "Executive Board | Kudelski Group". www.nagra.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- Vitello, Paul (2013-02-01). "Stefan Kudelski, Polish Inventor of Recorder That Changed Hollywood, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- "The Academy Award-winning NAGRA RECORDER". Film Sound Sweeden. June 1996. Archived from the original on 2012-08-02. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- "Nagra SN (1970 - 2006)". Museum of Obsolete Media. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- "Historical milestones | Kudelski Group". www.nagra.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- "KUDELSKI GROUP COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF OPENTV | Kudelski Group". www.nagra.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.