Michael McDonnell, chief financial officer at Intelsat since 2008, will depart the satellite services conglomerate in mid-December to take the CFO position at contract research organization Quintiles.
Quintiles said Monday McDonnell will succeed current CFO Kevin Gordon, who has held that role since 2010 and will move into the chief operating officer capacity at the Durham, N.C.-based company.
Both McDonnell and Gordon led their respective companies through initial public offerings in 2013 and also oversaw capital structure reorganizations.
McDonnell joined Intelsat after prior CFO roles at MCG Capital and EchoStar Communications.
Intelsat said Monday it has started an external search for a new CFO.