Speakers

Dan Adams is the General Manager and President of KSAT Inc, the wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) within the United States. Dan helped established KSAT Inc and has served as the executive leader for KSAT Inc since shortly after its inception in 2021.

Through Dan’s leaderships, the company has grown from 3 employees to 30, building core competencies in in space-ground communication services with emphasis in engineering, program management, and business development. Prior to KSAT, Dan contributed to strategic business development efforts for United Launch Alliance. Dan holds a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University, with undergraduate studies in Management from the University of Wyoming. In addition, Dan is a certified PMP.

Eric Anderson is President of And One Technologies and a startup investor, advisor and mentor in aerospace, IoT, mobility and medical systems. He has contributed to dozens of space products, missions, and programs. Eric currently supports technology and business aspects of several satellite and space activities. He emphasizes delivery of data and services via new technologies, channels, and business models including government access and use of emerging commercial space products and services.

As Chief Technologist for Space at Moog, he helped lead the company’s space business and collaborated with worldwide colleagues on business strategy, technology and innovation across multiple markets. Eric was part of the leadership team at the nationally-recognized small company CSA Engineering, serving several years as President.

He was on the technical staff at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, worked at Sikorsky Aircraft, served eight years as a city Planning Commissioner and is on the board of the Kenya-based education non-profit The Kilgoris Project. Eric earned BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT.

Dr. Jun Asakawa founded Pale Blue in 2020 to develop next-generation space mobility after working as an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Frontier Sciences. He has led the development of propulsion systems for Procyon Probe (world’s first deep space microsatellite), AQT-D Satellite (water propulsion system), EQUULEUS Satellite (water propulsion system) and other small satellite/spacecraft. With his expertise in propulsion systems, Dr. Asakawa has won MIT Tech Review “Innovators Under 35 Japan 2020,” IEPC “Best Paper Award,” and has been selected as Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts 2022.

Mr. Avila is the Deputy Director of the Source Operations Group, where he leads the integrated operational GEOINT collection, processing and dissemination mission supporting warfighters, policymakers, and first responders worldwide. Mr. Avila is a member of the Senior Intelligence Service (SIS).

Previously, Mr. Avila served as the Deputy Director of the NGA Commercial Operations Group, leading the discovery, assessment, and acquisition of trusted commercial GEOINT solutions for the NSG; the Director of the Commercial GEOINT Discovery & Assessments Office, leading the coordination, and managing the discovery and assessment of commercial geospatial solutions; the Senior Scientist for the Office of Sciences and Methodologies in the Analysis Directorate, providing scientific and technical leadership in aspects of Imagery Science, and led the Analysis Directorate’s effort in developing its technical workforce to broaden and deepen analytic expertise; the National GEOINT Officer (NGO) for Imagery Science, the principal subject matter expert to the NGA Director on all aspects of GEOINT collection and analysis related to areas of Imagery Science.

In February 2012, Mr. Avila completed a Joint Duty Assignment with the National Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) Office at DIA as the Vice Chairman of the National MASINT Committee (MASCOM). During his years with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and NGA he has led technical teams in Information Services and the Production Directorates, as well as serving as a Project Scientist in NIMA’s Science and Technology Directorate managing research and development projects related to spectral remote sensing technologies.
Mr. Avila has been with the U.S. Government as an Image Scientist for most of the last thirty plus years. He began his career in the Intelligence Community at the National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC) as an Image Scientist working on the processing and exploitation of spectral imagery. In 2022, Mr. Avila was awarded the Intelligence Presidential Rank Award in recognition of his sustained exemplary performance.

Currently, he is a member of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC), a Federal Committee sponsored by the Department of Interior and the Chair of the Landsat Advisory Group (LAG), an NGAC sub-committee, advising the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on the future of the National Land Imaging Program.

Brian Barritt is CTO at Aalyria where he supports the software infrastructure for orchestrating networks across land, sea, air, and space that they spun out from Google. Prior to joining Aalyria, he established a new industry consortium for 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks and supported open source connectivity at Meta. Brian was a Senior Staff Software Engineer at Google where he worked for 7 years as the founding engineer of the Temporospatial SDN infrastructure that powered several terrestrial, high-attitude, and satellite networks.

Brian has more than 15 years of experience in advanced wireless networks. Prior to his tenure at Google he led engineering programs at Cisco and space communications programs at NASA.

Brian earned an MBA in Management of Technology & Innovation and holds BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering.

Brad Bode, Chief Technology Officer
ATLAS Space Operations

Brad brings over 23 years of software development experience in the aerospace industry to the ATLAS team. He has designed, developed, tested, and deployed satellite command and control, mission planning, and data management applications throughout his career. As the architect and visionary behind Freedom Ground Software as a Service, Brad is responsible for hundreds of thousands of satellite passes and terabytes of data collected. He has led ATLAS’ initiative to fully integrate our Freedom Software with both ViaSat RTE and AWS Ground. Hence expanding our globally federated network to 50 antennas in 20 Countries. He holds an MS in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University.

Colonel Heather B. Bogstie was commissioned in 1998 through the ROTC program at Auburn University. Her first assignment was a Minuteman III missile operator/ instructor/ flight chief at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. She then moved to the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida as a Systems Engineer for the Nuclear Treaty Monitoring Directorate, upgrading and installing 15 seismic stations spanning all seven continents. Afterwards, she became the Chief of Payload Products, Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Wing at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California delivering the critical SBIRS GEO-2 missile detection and warning payload for spacecraft integration. After attending Air Command and Staff College, she was a Political Military Planner in the Western Hemisphere Directorate of J5, The Joint Staff, Pentagon, and coordinating Defense Support of Civil Authorities and Pandemic Influenza/Infectious Disease policies with interagency partners. She followed that assignment as Chief, Space Vehicle Engineering Branch at the National Reconnaissance Office where she led a 1,500-member joint team for $4.3B+ SIGINT space vehicle development. She then became Materiel Leader for Space Operations with Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) Advanced Systems and Development Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico and led the $152M RDT&E Support Complex, operating $672M in DoD and NASA missions. While there, she was dual-hatted as Program Manager for the $94M ORS-5 space situational awareness pathfinder program. Following that tour, she became Chief of the SMC Commander’s Action Group, where she then lead the SMC 2.0 effort–the largest re-organization in the Center’s 60 years. Afterwards, she was Senior Materiel Leader of the Rapid Development Division, where she managed an $800M portfolio critical to developing innovative on-orbit technologies that enabled numerous missions across the space enterprise

Ben Bowen, Principal Business Development Manager, leads strategy and adoption of AWS services for the Aerospace & Satellite solutions Space Exploration, Infrastructure, and Launch market segments globally.

Ben is a seasoned global business development, strategy, and partnerships professional with 28 years of experience in the space industry. He has held leadership roles at companies including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Sierra Space, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), and Alliant Techsystems (ATK).
Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a proven track record of negotiating and managing complex business opportunities and developing long-term strategic partnerships. He has cultivated an extensive network of contacts within the private and public space sectors, as well as with global space agencies like NASA, ESA, JAXA, CNES, ISRO, and ASI.

Ben’s expertise spans technical space hardware systems, go-to-market and business development strategy, and business management. He is known for his ability to apply the latest technologies, such as AI/ML and Digital Engineering, to help customers in both the private and public sectors.

Ben holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also certified as an AWS Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Public Speaker, and Project Management Professional (PMP).

Johann Bradley serves as a Technical Consultant for Brainstorm Technologies, a world leader in Digital Engineering services and Modeling & Simulation (M&S).

Johann specializes in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) for Brainstorm Technologies. He has consulted and personally developed multiple advanced defense and space projects on effective Digital Engineering to support conceptual design and streamlined project development.

Johann is a licensed System Modeling Professional (OCSMP) and holds a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech as well as a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Johann also serves as a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve.

Devin is the Director of the NGA Commercial Operations Group, where he leads a group in solving national security mission challenges with innovative commercial GEOINT solutions while leveraging the power of commercial capabilities to achieve GEOINT supremacy, diplomacy, and sustainability.

Previously, as a Presidential Innovation Fellow (PIF) and member of the civic tech community, Devin spent four years leading senior level
technology strategy across government in service to the public, with abfocus on technology and innovation in national security. As the Chief Architect for the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Global Analytics Platform (GAP), Devin partnered with the GAP Director
and team to develop and execute strategy for leveraging data as a strategic asset. In his first assignment as a PIF, Devin worked closely with a diverse team of innovators leading digital transformation across the Department of the Navy, focusing on cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to modernize legacy systems.

Prior to PIF, as Director of Product Management for Orbital Insight, Devin led product management for the entire Orbital Insight global public sector business, encompassing a suite of cutting edge products focused on data processing and labeling for advanced applications of computer vision, computer vision algorithm development, and large-scale geospatial analytics in both cloud-hosted and on-premises compute environments, providing integrated, end-to-end capabilities.

As a technology investor with In-Q-Tel, Devin managed a $60M+ portfolio of investments in 30+ companies spanning the entire funding lifecycle from seed to late stage, including several successful exits, and helped found the In-Q-Tel commercial space market team, focused on developing strategic guidance for emerging trends in commercial space.

Devin has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and an M.S. in engineering sciences from Dartmouth College.

Todd Brost is the Director Business Development – DoD Programs at Slingshot Aerospace, the
innovative technology company improving space safety and optimizing orbital operations. The
company is driven by its vision of accelerating space sustainability to create a safer, more
connected world. Todd leads DoD engagement for Slingshot Aerospace’s global business and is
responsible for customer relations.
Mr. Brost served nearly 30 years in the United States Air Force as a Space Operations Officer,
retiring in 2019, as a Colonel. Notable assignments include Commander, Space Analysis
Squadron, Director of Operations for Fourteenth Air Force and Chief of Plans, Resolute Support
Headquarters, Kabul Afghanistan. In his final assignment, he served as the first Director of the
National Space Defense Center, standing it up from scratch and bringing it to Initial Operational
Capability. After retirement, Todd worked for Numerica, and was responsible for operations
and fielding new sites for their Telescope Network and came over to Slingshot with the 2022
acquisition of Numerica’s space division.
Mr. Brost received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aero/Astro Engineering from Purdue
University. He also is a graduate of the US Air Force Weapons School, Air Command and Staff
College, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies and the US Army War College.

Steve “Bucky” Butow is the Director of the Space Portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). He joined the team in 2015 as an early plank owner when DIU was known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) and helped establish the organization’s operating locations in Silicon Valley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas.

In his reserve capacity, Butow is a Brigadier General serving as the Commander of the California Air National Guard where he leads 4,900 Airmen assigned to five wings and a headquarters staff. Prior to this assignment, he was a Special Assistant to the Director, Air National Guard.
Butow is a former Commander of the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield, CA, where his responsibilities included organizing, training, equipping, and maintaining 970 combat-ready forces and $1 Billion dollars of special mission aircraft and equipment supporting the U.S. Air Force’s combat rescue and personnel recovery missions. He has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Joint Search and Rescue Center for U.S. Central Command in 2005, and as Chief of Personnel Recovery for U.S. Air Forces Central in 2007 supporting Operations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM. Prior to joining DIU, Butow was the Vice Chief of the Joint Staff, California Military Department with responsibilities including cybersecurity, incident awareness and innovation. He has more than 3,500 flying hours in T-37, T-38, C-130, HC-130 and MC-130P aircraft.

As a researcher with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Butow worked on instrument concepts for Mars surface soil analysis at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. He later served as co-principal investigator for a series of airborne science missions for which he was recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the Space Science Division in 1999 and received an Ames Honor Award as a member of an Astrobiology Mission Project Team in 2000.

Butow graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Physics & Astronomy and earned a M.S. in Management with specialization in Air and Space Strategic Studies from the University of Maryland. He has also completed executive courses at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was a member of the National Leadership Preparedness Initiative (NPLI) Cohort 16. Butow is a lifetime member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for academic achievement.

Johnathon Caldwell is the Vice President and General Manager of Strategic & Missile Defense (SMD) Systems at Lockheed Martin Space. SMD missions include strategic deterrence, missile defense, directed energy and hypersonic strike, for the U.S. Department of Defense and U.K. Ministry of Defence.

Previously, Johnathon served as the Vice President and Deputy General Manager of the National Security Space (NSS) Line of Business and as the Vice President and General Manager of the Military Space Line of Business, delivering integrated end-to-end solutions, high-performance systems, critical space architectures and innovative concepts to help US and Allied customers successfully execute defense and intelligence missions.

With nearly 30 years in industry, Johnathon has held progressive leadership and technical roles within Lockheed Martin, including leading the digital modernization and sustainment of Lockheed Martin Space, leading the company’s Positioning, Navigation and Timing business portfolio, and serving as Chief Engineer for the GPS III Programs. He has held diverse roles in Program Management, Engineering, and Supply Chain, across missions ranging from space and ground systems for missile warning, to commercial and military communications and data transport, to commercial imaging systems.

Johnathon serves on the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Board of Trustees, and is an AIAA Associate Fellow. He sits on the University of Colorado Boulder, Engineering Advisory Council and serves as their LM Executive Champion.

Johnathon holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado. He is a graduate of Lockheed Martin’s Leadership Excellence & Development Program, Program Management Development Program and Executive Development & Growth Enhancement Program, and is a two-time recipient of the Lockheed Martin Corporate NOVA Award. He lives in the Denver Metro Area with his wife and three children.

Alan Campbell is a Principal Space Products Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS). His focus is on empowering customers with innovative new Cloud-based scalable solutions for the Aerospace & Satellite segment. Alan specializes in Data Analytics / ML enabling key insights in Satellite Communications, Earth Observation, and IoT platforms.

Prior to joining AWS, Alan directed the Panasonic Avionics Satellite Engineering team, delivering premium QoE to Inflight passengers. He led a major Cloud & Data migration of 100+ applications resulting in cost savings and SLA improvements.

Alan’s experience ranges from a Fellowship award at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, to authoring a book on Embedded Systems at Texas Instruments. He holds multiple Cloud certifications, satellite credentials and patents.

Phil Carrai is President of the Space, Training and Cybersecurity division of Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc, where he is responsible for all aspects of business operations, sales, mergers and acquisitions. Kratos Defense is an approximately $650 million public company focusing in Aerospace and Defense products and services.

Kratos Space, Training and Cybersecurity provides products for satellite signal processing, testing, communications, cybersecurity, in addition to training and simulation products and services. Phil led the acquisitions of DEI (2010), Integral Systems (2011), SecureInfo (2011), BSC (2014) and the integration that followed which transformed the group to be a major provider of specialized products and related services to global commercial and government customers. Previously, he was the CEO of Ai Metrix, a telecommunications software company focused in the defense and commercial markets, which was sold to Kratos Defense in 2006.

He is a former Managing Director for the Morino Group and Special Advisor to General Atlantic, Inc. During that period, he served as the Executive Chairman for US mobile media leader Ztango until its sale to Widerthan.com (now part of Real Networks), and an active board member for Internosis, a commercial and federal services provider, until its sale to EMC.

Phil also was the CEO of McCabe and Associates, a testing and analysis software company, growing revenues during his tenure, and remained with the company as Chairman until its sale to a private equity firm. Between 1989 and 1996, Phil held a number of executive positions at Legent, including Vice President and General Manager of its $200 million Resource Management business unit, where he managed or was directly involved in numerous product launches, channel and international expansions, new product development, and mergers and acquisitions, including the merger with Computer Associates. Phil began his career as a systems analyst/programmer for Alcoa.

Phil currently serves as a board member for Network Alliance and is the President of the Alumni Board for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from IUP in 1983 majoring in Information Science and Accounting, where he is a University Distinguished Alumni and a member of the Eberly Business Hall of Distinction, and received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in 1989.

Dan cofounded LeoLabs to accelerate the new commercial economy in LEO, protect satellite assets, and preserve the space environment. LeoLabs is the first commercial data source for tracking satellites and mapping LEO. Prior to co-founding LeoLabs Dan was a Program Director at SRI International where he supervised the Allen Telescope Array and developed advanced radar imaging technologies. Dan holds a Ph. D. from U. C. Berkeley in electrical engineering.

Mr. James Crean is an aerospace & defense innovator with a passion for advanced space systems development, strengthening the defense supply chains, and implementing smart factory technology and methods in the US.

Mr. Crean worked at Hughes Space & Communications and Boeing as a satellite systems engineer and program manager developing systems including DirecTV, NASA TRDSS, and other advanced commercial and government communications and weather satellites. He created and led the Lean Six Sigma group for Boeing Satellite Systems.

In 2002 Mr. Crean founded Crean & Associates which accelerates solutions to complex engineering, production, and supply chain challenges. The Crean organization is a nationally recognized team of over 600 aerospace & defense engineering & manufacturing experts who help develop and deliver clients’ solutions from the depths of the oceans to the furthest reaches of the solar system. Additionally, Crean’s real-time, AI-enabled VIA Production Accelerator and Smart Factory Operating System (SFOS)™ automate factory optimization and provide Visibility, Insight & Acceleration to maximize the efficiency of production of complex high-mix systems.

Mr. Crean has an MS in Aerospace Engineering from USC, an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science from UC Berkeley. He is married with 3 children.

Kim Crider is a Founding Partner of Elara Nova. She brings more than 35 years of experience managing multibillion-dollar global operations and technology programs in space, aerospace, cybersecurity, IT, data, and AI to the core team.

A recently retired U.S. Air Force (USAF) Major General, Crider was the first Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for the newly established U. S. Space Force (USSF) where she oversaw a $2.5B Space Science & Technology portfolio and directed a $750M digital services and cybersecurity portfolio to advance the $15B global military space enterprise for 16,000 personnel. Prior to that, Crider was the Air Force Chief Data Officer, a first in the DoD, where she led the implementation of a $100M enterprise data management portfolio to assure availability of operational and business data to over 850,000 military, civilian and contract users across the Department of the Air Force’s $126B enterprise, and established a strategy for enterprise data management that has seminally influenced other DoD level data strategies and initiatives.

Crider regularly advises US Political Appointees, Service Secretaries, Military Service Chiefs, and Civil Agency leaders, as well as international military, civilian and industry leaders, on the strategic use of technology to achieve competitive advantage. She has extensive international experience having served in Europe, Australia, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, and has been a seminal leader in global space, air and cyberspace operations, coalition and NATO command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and international information sharing. She built and led two multimillion-dollar specialty consulting firms focused on IT/data strategy, cybersecurity, and digital services in the education, architecture & engineering, financial services and health technology sectors. A senior engineer at the MITRE Corporation for over 15 years, Crider led the engineering for global enterprise networks, cybersecurity, and advanced surveillance radar systems across the DoD and Homeland Security.

Crider earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Duke University, an M.B.A. from Western New England University, and a Graduate certificate degree in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University. She graduated with distinction from the USAF Air Command and Staff College and the National Defense University Industrial College of the Armed Forces and has been an executive fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the University of Tennessee.

Timur Davis is an Investment Director at Munich Re Ventures where he leads the ClimateTech and Future of Transportation sectors, investing in companies solving some of the biggest challenges facing the world. These include strengthening climate resilience, improving sustainability, enabling the energy transition, and creating new paradigms for the movement of people, goods, and data across all domains of transportation.

 Timur has been a venture capital investor for over a decade, having previously worked at Canapi Ventures, Live Oak Ventures, and Samsung Ventures. Before VC, Timur was a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

 Timur lives in San Francisco and holds a PhD from the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University.

Preston Dunlap has over 20 years of executive leadership experience across technology, national security, and private investment. He is the founder of Arkenstone Ventures, serves on Boards and as Lead Independent Director of Pixxel Space Technologies, advises Fortune 100 and growth companies, private equity, venture capital, and institutions such as RAND, Stanford, and MIT and is a Senior External Advisor at Bain & Company.

He led the Defense Department’s Investment Committee strategy, analysis, and diligence for the Secretary of Defense to allocate and deploy $750B+ annually in industry sectors supporting national security, such as infrastructure, services, space, cybersecurity and software, AI, communications, transportation and logistics, ships, aircraft, vehicles, and weapons.

Mr. Dunlap started $250B+ of new programs with 4 Secretaries of Defense, including the newly unveiled B-21 bomber, Hypersonic Prompt Strike, classified space and intelligence, and Joint All-Domain Command and Control programs.

He led initiatives with the Vice President of the United States and Cabinet on the future of commercial, civil, and national security space, transformed federal Venture Capital investment, was the first Chief Technology Officer of the Space Force and Air Force with $75B of products, and served on the ground floor of successful software and infrastructure companies.

He holds a Master of Science in Operations Research and Management Science from George Mason University, a Bachelor’s degree in both Computer Science and Political Science from Duke University, and was a Harvard National Security Executive Fellow.

Mr. Dunlap is frequently cited as an authority in international media and as an expert witness for the United States Congress. His awards include the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, Secretary of the Air Force Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, and Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.

Jonny Dyer is a Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Muon Space, a company focused on Earth Intelligence for a safe and resilient world. With a remarkable career spanning multiple roles in aerospace, geospatial technology and complex systems engineering, Jonny has led development of multiple industry-shaping products.

Beginning in 2009, Jonny served as the Chief Engineer at Skybox Imaging, the first venture-backed SmallSat company. In that role, Jonny led the ground-up development of what remains the largest constellation of high resolution imaging satellites ever deployed. Skybox Imaging was acquired by Google in 2014 for $500M.

At Google, Jonny continued working in the geospatial domain, leading Google Maps’ data collection team developing products like the Street View cars and a portfolio of aircraft platforms. In 2018, Jonny joined Lyft’s Level 5 Autonomous Vehicle group as a Senior Director leading the vehicle platform team responsible for the design, integration and deployment of Lyft’s cutting-edge AV platforms.

While at Google and Lyft, Jonny remained active in the satellite remote sensing space serving as a founding member of EDF’s MethaneSat Technical Advisory Group, a role he continues in today. He also served as a member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s APOSS study committee which produced a seminal report on the opportunities presented by commercial SmallSat constellations for civil, science and defense applications.

Jonny is an Operating Partner at Space Capital where he leverages his deep industry knowledge to drive strategic investments. He also serves as a member of the Ubiquity.vc’s Extended Team advising the partners on investments at the edge of hardware and software.

Jonny holds both a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. During his time at Stanford, he pursued a diverse range of subjects, including thermodynamics and energy, embedded electronics and software, fluid dynamics, solid-state and quantum physics, and mechanics of materials. He has authored numerous widely-cited articles spanning non-equilibrium thermodynamics, radiation effects on commercial electronics and high performance imaging systems, among others.

Jonny’s diverse expertise and leadership abilities, combined with his innate curiosity and innovative mindset, make him a sought-after leader in industry. His contributions to Muon Space, Skybox Imaging, Google, and MethaneSat have been instrumental in driving growth and shaping the future of a new generation of smallsats that monitor Earth’s climate and ecosystems.

Matthew Erickson is SpiderOaks Vice President of Solutions guiding federal clients in applying zero trust and distributed ledger technologies to securing sensitive data, communications and hybrid space environments.

Joining SpiderOak in 2010 Matt is the architect of the companies initiative to expand the federal use case for blockchain in Hybrid Space, DoD and Intelligence.

In 2018 Matt was Executive Director of the Digital Privacy Alliance where he was responsible for bringing together sectors of the tech industry that respect user privacy enabling  them to speak with a single voice in legislatures across the country.

Debra Facktor leads the Airbus U.S. Space Systems line of business, with a focus on small satellites produced for commercial and government customers at the company’s manufacturing facility in Merritt Island, Florida, and on space exploration activities in the U.S.

Debra sits on the board of directors for Starlab Space LLC, a joint venture between Voyager and Airbus to build and operate a next-generation commercial space station. She also served on the board of the Airbus OneWeb Satellites joint venture prior to its recent acquisition by Airbus U.S.

Before joining Airbus U.S., Debra was Vice President and General Manager of Strategic Operations for Ball Aerospace, leading the company’s Washington DC operations, strategic development, and marketing and communications.

She is actively engaged as an advisor and mentor in the aerospace community, serving as chair of the Space & Satellite Professionals International-Women in Space Engagement (SSPI-WISE) and is a fellow of AIAA, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

Debra received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan and is an alumna of the International Space University summer session program in Strasbourg, France.

Major Nate Gapp leads: several responsive space efforts, including Sinequone; Responsive Launch II; Small, Responsive Launch; and Global Responsive Space; space domain awareness efforts, such as the Global Space Innovation Project (GSIP); a higher-efficiency, domestic solar cell prototype; and he is the Space Portfolio’s lead for collaborating with key allies & partners in these areas . Prior to DIU, Nate, as the Partnership Lead for Space C2 at SSC/IA led a group of seven nations in strategizing collaborative development. Nate has been the Speechwriter for the then-SMC Commander. Nate’s technical background includes the AFRL Space Power & Structures Group, testing novel photovoltaics materials and solar-array structures, including the Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA). Nate earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno and a M.S. in Space Studies from American Military University.

Tara Gattis spent 21 years at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, leading innovation in intelligence analysis, artificial intelligence and computer vision, and industry engagement. She supported the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and led budget and strategy development on incorporating commercial analytics and analytic modernization efforts. At OSK, Tara served as the VP, Government Affairs, overseeing strategic partnerships, business development, and program management.

Lieutenant Colonel George earned his commission through Baylor University, Air Force ROTC in 2008. He has held a variety of global strike and space assignments at the squadron, wing, and HQ staff levels, including serving as an ICBM Instructor Combat Crew Commander at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, the Senior Instructor and Operations Flight commander for the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, Aide-de-Camp for the Commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, and Director of Operations for the 2nd Space Warning Squadron, 460th Space Wing, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado. He is a distinguished graduate of Air Command and Staff College and a graduate of the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Montgomery, AL.

Prior to his current assignment as the 53d Space Operations Squadron Commander, Lieutenant Colonel George was the Chief of Strategy and Plans Division, Space Forces Space, Schriever Space Force Base, CO.

Lt Col George is married to his wife Debbie.

Tom Gillespie serves as a Partner on In-Q-Tel’s Investment Team and as Investment Lead for In-Q-Tel’s Field Technologies Practice, where he is responsible for identifying technologies that address challenges faced by the Intelligence Community. He is the Investment Team partner associated with IQT’s commercial space initiative, CosmiQ Works, and he has led a number of IQT’s investments in commercial space ventures, including launch vehicles, small satellite constellations, and space situational awareness. In addition, he has led IQT investments in the areas of robotics, materials, power sources, and autonomous systems, as well as several analytics investments.

Prior to IQT, Gillespie was a Strategy Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, serving clients in the financial services, aerospace, and government (national security and defense) sectors. Previously, he co-founded LaunchFuel, a venture commercialization firm that created, developed, and advised early-stage technology businesses; Gillespie also directed numerous business and technology strategy projects with Global 2000 clients for AT&T Solutions. Earlier experience includes positions in international privatization and the United States Congress, where he focused on financial services, telecommunications, space, and foreign affairs issue areas.

Gillespie earned a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Lori Gordon is Systems Director in the Space Enterprise Evolution Directorate at The Aerospace Corporation. In her role, she leads enterprise integration initiatives related to international competition and collaboration, commercial ventures, and legislative and regulatory frameworks in support of space infrastructure and economic growth, security, and resilience, all in the national interest. With more than 20 years of professional experience, Gordon has contributed to the development of national-level strategies, capabilities, and programs across homeland, intelligence, and civil agencies. At Aerospace since 2018, Gordon is focused on areas of emerging capability, including cislunar ecosystems; space traffic coordination; in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM); space safety and sustainability; supply chain; and cybersecurity. Gordon is a partner with Aerospace’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) and fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute (NSI).

Mr. Todd Gossett joined SES Government Solutions (SES GS) in September 2015 and serves as the Vice President for Space & National Security Initiatives. Mr. Gossett is responsible for developing, pursuing, and securing opportunities to support U.S. Government missions around the world by leveraging SES’s space infrastructure for missions ranging from space relay to hosted payloads. He is also responsible for integrating U.S. Government COMSATCOM requirements into the SES corporate processes for satellite fleet development and strategic third part capacity procurements. His office also works with U.S. government and industry partners to strengthen the cyber security of the SES fleet. He also oversees SES GS’ innovation strategy, looking at non-traditional and market adjacent products and services to expand SES GS’ addressable market.

Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the SES GS Senior Director, Hosted Payloads, where he developed new hosted payload opportunities for U.S. Government customers. He also served as program manager for NASA’s Global-Scale Observations of the Limb & Disk (GOLD) hosted payload program which launched on SES-14 in 2018 and is currently delivering unique observations of the sun’s impact on the upper atmosphere for NASA and research institutions worldwide.

Prior to joining SES GS, Mr. Gossett served twenty-six years in the United States Air Force, retiring in September 2015 at the rank of colonel. In his last assignment, he served as the Deputy Director of Space Operations, Headquarters United States Air Force, at the Pentagon, where he led a diverse team of over a forty personnel responsible for the formulation of Air Force space operations policy, development of space operations and maintenance budgets, conducting space operations international engagements, coordinating approval of sensitive space operations, and overseeing the Air Force’s space operations personnel development & training programs. Prior to his final Pentagon assignment, he served as commander of the USAF’s western launch range at Vandenberg AFB, CA. He also served in several other assignments, including nuclear missile operations, satellite operations, and space electronic warfare operations, as well as in various staff positions at Headquarters United States Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. Gossett grew up in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina, and Master’s degrees from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, the Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College, and the U.S. Naval War College.

Gen. Michael A. Guetlein is the Vice Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force. As Vice Chief, he is responsible for assisting the Chief of Space Operations in organizing, training and equipping space forces in the United States and overseas, integrating space policy and guidance, and coordinating space-related activities for the U.S. Space Force and the Department of the Air Force.

The U.S. Space Force organizes, trains, equips and maintains mission-ready space forces that provide missile warning, space domain awareness, positioning, navigation and timing, communications and space electronic warfare for North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Space Command and other combatant commands.

Gen. Guetlein was commissioned through the ROTC program at Oklahoma State University in 1991. His acquisition experience spans air and space capabilities and systems across special operations, global power projection, missile warning and detection, and counterspace mission areas. The general has commanded and led at the flight, squadron, division, directorate, Program Executive Officer and Field Command levels. Notable assignments include serving as the Commander, Space Systems Command; Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and Commander of the Air and Space Force Element; Program Executive for Programs and Integration at the Missile Defense Agency; Director of Remote Sensing Systems; Commander of the Rapid Reaction Squadron; the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition; and a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow.

Dr. Kelly Hammett, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director and Program Executive Officer (PEO) for the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO), Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. As Space RCO’s senior acquisition officer, Dr. Hammett is responsible for and oversees space-based research, development and acquisition activities for classified space acquisition programs assigned to the Space RCO. In this position, Dr. Hammett serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force, for the rapid development and fielding of classified critical space capabilities for the United States Space Command and Space Force. In his PEO capacity, he is responsible for a robust portfolio of major acquisition programs providing operationally dominant space capabilities that strategically enhance the nation’s warfighting capabilities in the space domain.

Dr. Hammett entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant in 1988, receiving his commission through the ROTC program at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. His 20-year active-duty career spanned a variety of positions mainly focused on directed energy weapon system technology development and acquisition, and culminated after serving as the Director of Engineering for the $7 billion Airborne Laser Program. His civilian career started at Kirtland AFB where he served in various positions to include the Chief Engineer for the Directed Energy Directorate’s Optics Division and the Directed Energy Directorate’s Chief Engineer, where he led engineering and program management activities and provided technical oversight of more than 30 science and technology programs valued at over $300 million.

Dr. Hammett has published more than 14 technical papers in national and international journals and conference proceedings. He was directly responsible for the development and flight test of more than 10 first-of-their-kind, world-record setting directed energy technologies. He is a member of the Acquisition Corps and held multiple critical acquisition positions over the last 12 years. He is a Level III Space Professional, and previously commanded an operational space surveillance detachment. Throughout his career, he has led more than 30 successful field demonstrations of optical and directed energy technologies for space surveillance, missile defense, force protection, air superiority, and global precision attack mission needs.

Prior to his current assignment, Dr. Hammett was the Director, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2016.

Clint Hunt, Colonel, USAF (Retired), is the director of Intelligence and Defense Programs for United Launch Alliance (ULA). In this role, Clint is responsible for engagement with the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community to ensure the mission needs are met.

Clint previously served 27 years as an operator and acquisition officer in the United States
Air Force, focusing largely on space control, intelligence and space launch systems. In his final assignment, he was the director, Office of Space Launch at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). In this role, Clint led several hundred government and industry team members at five locations, executing a multi-billion-dollar budget across the future year’s defense plan. He was also responsible for the technical and operational planning and execution of the NRO’s launch requirements.

Prior to this assignment, Clint served as the chief, Space Control and Advanced Technology Division at headquarters Air Force, representing an eight-billion-dollar portfolio that encompassed 28 space control-related programs, and advocating for Space Control requirements with the other services, Congress, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Intelligence Community and the White House. He held numerous other leadership assignments during his career, serving as the chief of the Space Professional Management
Office at Headquarters Air Force Space Command and commanded the 1st Air and Space Test Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base. He also held positions in the NRO’s Signals Intelligence Directorate, as the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program Element Monitor and duties at the Squadron and program office level.

Clint holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Master of Science degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Lesley University and is a Level III certified program manager.

Col Nathan L. Iven is the Interim Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Cyber and Data and the Acting Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He is responsible for developing strategy and policy to advance Science and Technology and Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; employing cutting edge technologies to digitally transform the USSF; assuring USSF information technology needs are met; effectively managing USSF data; and conducting analysis supporting all USSF staff elements.

Col Iven is a graduate of Cornell University and was commissioned in 1996. He has served in a variety of operational space, missile, intelligence, and cyber assignments including Minuteman III Combat Crew, Satellite Operations, and 614th Air Operations Center Combat Operations. Col Iven directed foundational intelligence analysis, served as an Air Force Major Command staff officer, and Wing Chief of Safety. He supported theater space operations as the Liaison Officer to Joint Functional Component Commander for Space and served as the Director of Strategy and Plans, securing, operating, and defending the Department of Defense Information Network.

Col Iven commanded the Counter Space Analysis Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Prior to his current position, Col Iven was the Military Deputy, Science, Technology and Research, Headquarters United States Space Force.

Lee Kenyon is a Senior Project Leader in the Communication Technologies and Engineering Division at The Aerospace Corporation. At Aerospace, he leads and consults on a wide range of problems in satellite communication systems and signal processing across the Department of Defense portfolio. This includes providing advice to decision-makers, leading the development of proof-of-concept prototypes, and leading studies to shape acquisition plans. Prior to joining Aerospace in 2018, he held a range of technical leadership positions in industry in the areas of satellite communication, communication and signal processing research, modem development, and electronic intelligence.

Karan is the Co-Founder and CEO of K2 Space. K2 Space is developing a high powered, low cost satellite bus platform that delivers the capability of exquisite satellites at the price point and speed of small satellites. Redesigned from the reaction wheel up, the K2 bus is designed to handle multiple orbits (LEO, MEO, GEO), handle multiple use cases and multi-manifest in launch vehicles like Falcon 9 – delivering 200kW of array power in a single launch. Prior to founding K2 Space, Karan helped build an artificial intelligence company – leading it from seed stage to 9-figure exit.

Before that, he spent almost 10yrs at the Boston Consulting Group, launching new businesses and leading turnaround efforts for their Fortune 500 clients. Karan studied Math and Economics at Northwestern University before getting an MBA from INSEAD.

Andy has 44 years with NGC/TRW and a total of 46 years working in advanced space programs specializing in, advanced manufacturing, spacecraft design, micro-electronics, nuclear products, space logistics, and astrophysics projects. As a NG Fellow 2, he supports NGC’s key space customers including NASA, AFRL, NRO, DARPA, Army/SMDC, Space RCO, USMC, and the Navy. He is considered one of the prominent advanced manufacturing (AM) experts in the country and has produced over fifty papers in AM, in-space manufacturing, lunar and planetary sciences, hypersonics, and miniaturization of spacecraft components. He brings his innovative approach to problems and has won several Corporate awards for innovation.
Andy is an appointed Research Professor at the University of New Mexico and is on the faculty in the Electrical and Computing Engineering Department, supporting satellite and space research. He is on the Technical Advisory Boards for Virginia Tech, U of Michigan, Cornell, and U of New Mexico. Andy Kwas graduated from the University of Michigan in 1978 with two degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and received a Masters degree in 1980 from the University of Missouri Science and Technology in Astrophysics.

David Langan is Umbra’s CEO and Co-founder. He is an expert in space mission architecture formulation and operations, remote sensing, and the design, manufacturing, and testing of advanced space systems for commercial and U.S. government customers. David has contributed to U.S. commercial space policy development, serving from 2016-2020 as an appointee of two presidential administrations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES).

Before founding Umbra in 2015, David held positions as a Systems Engineer, Technical Director, and Space Mission Architect at Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman) where he enjoyed 100% flight success across more than 18 satellite systems.

Mr. Jeremy Leader is the Deputy Director, Commercial Space Office (COMSO), Space Systems Command (SSC), United States Space Force (USSF), to enact the new paradigm shift to “buy before build.”  Previously, he was Deputy Director, Cross Mission Ground and Communications Enterprise (ECX) and the Air Force lead for Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviews.  Mr. Leader is currently Deputy Director of Plans for the 960th Cyberspace Wing in the Air Force Reserve and has deployed world-wide in support of multiple operations.  He currently has six degrees, ranging from Aeronautical Science to Cybersecurity, and enjoys playing ice hockey.

Mark Lester has built a 30+ year career advancing aerospace and defense operations in both public and private sectors, including multiple executive and C-suite roles. He has served as CEO of a private equity-owned defense business with a successful exit, managed space and aviation operations, and led teams winning $4B in government services contract awards. In the space transportation sector, he has been an advocate and pioneer in tailoring spaceport operations to mimic the cadence and efficiency of commercial airports.

Before most recently re-launching his consulting firm Pantigo Lester, Mark was Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Phantom Space, a space transportation start-up. Prior to Phantom, Mark served as the CEO for Alaska Aerospace Corporation where he operated the Kodiak commercial spaceport without state subsidies, modernized launch infrastructure, and conducted several commercial and military launches.

Prior to Alaska Aerospace, Mark held various other executive roles, including serving as CEO for a private equity owned aviation company focused on military flight training, leading business development for a mid-market national security sector engineering services and technology solutions company, and as Principal of Booz Allen Hamilton’s critical strategic initiatives business development team.

Mark began his career as an officer in US Air Force space operations. During his 7-years of military service, he operated military satellites, pioneered tactics to integrate space capabilities into air combat operations, and led intelligence analysis.

Mark holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Norwich University and a Master of Engineering in Space Operations from the University of Colorado. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Aerospace Business Administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Artur (Art) Loureiro is the Director of the Space Defense Solutions (SDS) Portfolio for L3Harris Technologies Space Superiority Division. He is a former senior Army officer with extensive experience in Joint Multi- Domain Operations, on land, space; and, Integrated Air & Missile Defense.
As the Director for SDS, Loureiro is responsible for current program execution and business growth within the portfolio’s four enterprise areas: Space Domain Awareness, Strategic Warning & Defense, Space Systems Test & Training; and, Assured Access To Space.

Loureiro leads a team of highly motivated Program Managers, Engineers, and Strategic Growth Professionals. The SDS Portfolio supports multiple customers including the US Space Force, USSPACECOM, Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, and T50 agencies.
The SDS portfolio conducts both Operational Maintenance and Sustainment activities of ground based radar and optical sensors and is involved in various development programs focused on ground-based strategic warning sensors and Live, virtual, and constructive environments supporting the warfighter. In addition to US based customers, SDS is active with US partner nations that include the UK and Australia.

Prior to joining L3Harris, Loureiro was the Business Unit Lead for Boecore Inc. where he oversaw the companies Space Operations Portfolio. He was responsible for overseeing several space and missile warning programs and managing a team of highly skilled engineers. He was Boecore’s Task Lead on the SENSOR program and led Harris Corps support to Multi- Domain Command and Control (MDC2) Experiment as part of SMC- SYG support to the Department of the Air Force as well as the National Space Defense Center (NSDC).

Prior to joining industry, Loureiro retired after 29 years in the US Army where he was commissioned an Infantry Officer and served in a variety of command and staff roles.
Loureiro has served in all levels of command from platoon through Brigade and finished his active duty service as an Army Strategist. He has also served in the US Embassy Rome, Italy as a Foreign Area Officer specializing in West, Central, and Eastern European national security.

His most recent military assignments were as the Chief of Plans for the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command / Army Strategic Forces Command, Chief of Plans for the North American Aerospace Defense Command & US Northern Command; and, Director of Strategy and Policy for the United States Army War College.
Loureiro served in three combat tours as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He was also involved in several operational deployments involving Counterdrug Operations, Disaster Response and Peacekeeping/Enforcement.

Loureiro retired in the grade of Colonel in 2015
Loureiro has an MA degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval- Postgraduate School and a BA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.

Mr. Lusczakoski is a Vice President at AE Industrial and is primarily focused on financial modeling, due diligence, executing new investments, and monitoring portfolio investments. Mr. Lusczakoski currently serves on the Board of Directors of AE Industrial portfolio company, Calca Solutions. Mr. Lusczakoski brings over seven years of aerospace industry experience to AE Industrial. Prior to joining AE Industrial in 2018, Mr. Lusczakoski was a Lead Engineer in the Program Development group at Williams International, where he led multiple integration programs for UAVs, military trainer aircraft and business jets.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan – Ross School of Business.

Zac Manchester is an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and a B.S. in applied physics from Cornell University. Zac was a postdoc in the Agile Robotics Lab at Harvard University and previously worked at Stanford, NASA Ames Research Center and Analytical Graphics, Inc. He received a NASA Early Career Faculty Award in 2018, a Google Faculty Research Award in 2019, numerous best paper awards, and has led four NASA-funded satellite missions. His research interests include motion planning, control, and numerical optimization, particularly with application to small, low-cost spacecraft.

Skip is Vice President, Public Sector for Pixxel Space Technologies, Inc., a commercial satellite company working in the hyperspectral imaging technology space. He has over 35 years of experience as an executive, strategist, business growth leader, program manager, and technologist within the public sector and defense and intelligence community.

Skip’s senior leadership and corporate officer roles include those at Leidos, Maxar, Raytheon, Textron, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics predecessor organizations among others. He is also a member of the Janes Defense National Intelligence Advisory Board. He is a former Army intelligence officer, conducting military operations, instructing imagery intelligence analysts and collection managers, space imaging research and development, and defense systems fielding.

He was assistant principal investigator on two Space Shuttle missions (Army Man in Space) developing optical and hyperspectral sensors and analysis of complex data. M.S. in remote sensing and image processing (Civil and Environmental Engineering) from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and a B.S. in geology and philosophy from Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA). He participates in triathlons; is a single dad to his college age son, Aidan, and daughter, Camerin. He is a published poet with several books and awarded submissions. Skip lives in Ashburn, Virginia just outside Washington, D.C.

Matt McGuire brings more than 35 years of professional experience working DoD technology strategy, planning and execution to include: engineering and technology solutions, operational planning, and strategic planning. He is the Booz Allen Hamilton site lead for Colorado Springs and is responsible for the defense space market in Colorado and New Mexico with a focus on engineering and solutions. He holds a MA in Business Management as well as Certifications in Program Management and Agile.

Matt leads large portions of Booz Allen Hamilton’s space strategy and was responsible for spearheading a presence with space-focused organizations in Albuquerque, N.M. His team develops solutions for PNT; RF Resiliency; Cyber Resiliency; Modern, Cloud-Based Ground Systems; Electronic Warfare; Advanced Analytics; and Immersive Space Training.  His team also supports large Systems Engineering and Integration efforts with U.S. Space Force organizations and corporate responsibilities include market strategy and development, merger and acquisition strategy, staff development, and community outreach.  He has been a program manager on numerous contracts supporting DoD clients and leads several Booz Allen activities to include university partnerships, Catalyst Campus engagement, and small business relationship building.  Matt also brings over 13 years of Air Force experience in the DoD acquisition and requirements processes, appropriation law, and DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution.

Jason B. Mello is the CEO and Co-Founder of The KMC Group, LLC. As a retired Air Force Colonel and business executive, Jason provides C-suite-level strategic consulting to the Defense, Intelligence, and Space sectors for both commercial and government customers. With a focus on corporate strategy, business execution, and growth, Jason works with companies by providing strategic solutions, government engagements, proposal support, due diligence reviews, and advisory services to C-suite leaders to grow business with the Federal Government. His extensive experience with the United States Space Force, the Pentagon, and IC agencies is key to delivering results across the space industry. Jason serves as a director and advisor to other space, defense, and information technology organizations.

Previously, Jason served as the President of Firefly Space Transport Services (STS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace Inc., leading Firefly’s Government Relations, Capture & Proposal Team and its Federal and Commercial Business Unit focused on commercial, civil, and military requirements for space transportation. During his time at Firefly, Jason’s leadership and key government relationships led to the company’s divestiture of its foreign ownership. Leading revenue, he secured multiple commercial launch agreements along with developing a multi-year billion-dollar pipeline key to future growth. Specifically, Jason captured the company’s 1st U.S. Space Force contract to fly the United States Space Force’s VICTUS NOX responsive space mission along with securing major contracts with Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, etc. Jason’s strategic acquisition expertise was key to Firefly’s Northrop Grumman partnership to build a future medium launch vehicle.

Before joining Firefly, Jason served as a Colonel in the United States Air Force at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), where he held the role of Chief Research and Technology Officer. In this capacity, he oversaw an annual portfolio of over $500 million and 62 senior scientists and engineers responsible for researching and developing future technologies crucial to the Air Force and Space Force.

Prior to his time at AFOSR, Jason was the Director of the National Intelligence Portfolio, where he led the oversight team for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment overseeing a $9 billion annual portfolio of intelligence community programs. He has a proven history of leading various classified and unclassified satellite and intelligence programs. He led the first Launch Acquisition Division at the National Reconnaissance Office, where he spearheaded the use of small launch vehicles for National Security while executing a $1B annual budget. Jason served at the White House for three years as a White House Military Social Aide. In his 23 years in the Air Force, Jason led in multiple acquisition and operations positions vital to the National Security of the United States.

Jason holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from George Washington University, a Master of Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Jason values family and community. He is happily married with three children and actively contributes to his community as a volunteer for youth baseball and his church. He also serves as the President of the Board for the Ashburn Village Community Association, a thriving community with over 5,300 homes, 20,000 residents, and an annual budget of over $11M. Jason is a sought-after speaker and mentor in the community.

Melinda is the National and Tactical Systems (NTS) portfolio area director in Raytheon’s Air and Space Defense strategic business unit. NTS is a diverse portfolio with programs serving DoD and Intelligence customers by delivering solutions such as distributed tactical mission management, ground systems, software development, multi-source data sensing and fusion, space-rated avionics and electronics, data processing, and advanced payloads.
Through more than 25 years at Raytheon, Melinda has held technical system engineering leadership and program leadership roles covering the entirety of the space portfolio. Melinda holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Carroll College and has completed numerous leadership programs including the Leadership Excellence Program, the Intelligence, Information and Services Accelerator Program, and the Engineering Leadership Development Program. She is also active with employee engagement groups and is a representative on the Raytheon DE&I Council.

Ric Mommer leads commercial engagement and investor relations activities for DIU’s space portfolio, working with non-traditional companies, venture capitalists and private equity investors. His specialties include telecommunications, advanced computing, stored energy and propulsion.  Prior to DIU, Ric has worked at Apple, Philips Electronics, Nokia and Intel Corporation where he held leadership roles in Global Sales, Business Development and Corporate Development.  Ric is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Business.

Education: BA in Political Science with a minor in History, University of North Texas (94); MBA, University of Phoenix (08); Graduate of National Space Security Institute: Graduate of the Concepts of Orbital Warfare Course, Fundamentals of Orbital Operations Course, Advanced SATCOM, Advanced PNT, and SPACE 200 and 300 courses.Kimberly Morris is the Deputy for Space Operations at Naval Network Warfare Command. In this role, she has supervision of Navy SATCOM Operations. She supervises the asset allocation and mission planning of the Navy’s Commercial Broadband Satellite Program. She is currently leading an initiative to demonstrate resilient SATCOM through proactive management and control techniques by using pre-allocated MILSATCOM compatible commercial capabilities as maneuver space.

Kimberly retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2014 after 20 years as a Communications Officer. During her career, she held several SATCOM centric billets including leading one of the first Joint Force wideband SATCOM “Enabler” detachments from amphibious shipping and after 9-11 as a Communication Company Commander in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her last assignment was team lead for the Expeditionary SATCOM acquisitions program at MARCORSYSCOM.
After retirement, she served as a program analyst in support of OPNAV N2N6 responsible for the Navy’s Commercial SATCOM and Wideband programs before accepting her current position at Navy Network Warfare Command.
She is the recipient of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service award, the Meritorious Service Medal with three stars, the Joint Commendation Medal, the Navy/ Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy/ Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Mr. Pete Muend is the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office’s Commercial Systems Program Office (CSPO) where he leads the NRO’s strategy for full integration of multiple commercial imagery sources. Prior to establishing CSPO, Mr. Muend served as the NRO’s director for the Commercial GEOINT Activity (CGA), a joint initiative between the NRO and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) established to position both agencies to take full advantage of existing and emerging commercial GEOINT capabilities. Prior to CGA, Mr. Muend was the Assistant Deputy Director of the National Intelligence for Acquisition where he was responsible for overseeing Major Systems Acquisitions across the Intelligence Community. Mr. Muend also served as the NRO Chief of Staff and in a number of other positions within the NRO and Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Ahsun Murad is the President and CEO of Optimal Satcom, which he co-founded as a spin-off from Lockheed Martin and Comsat in 2002. Over the last 22 years since its founding, Optimal Satcom has grown to support a large segment of the satellite industry with industry-leading enterprise-level software products and systems for resource management, service planning, optimization, and business intelligence. Over 15 satellite operators, 20 of the largest satellite service providers, and major US Government DoD and civilian agencies use Optimal Satcom products and systems today.

As a world expert in satellite communications technology with over 30 years’ experience, Mr. Murad advises satellite companies and governments on satellite system design, application of emerging technologies, and formulating policy decisions. Before founding Optimal Satcom, Mr. Murad held management positions at Lockheed Martin and COMSAT Laboratories. In these positions, he headed the development of products for transmission planning and satellite capacity management and was the lead system architect for a number of commercial SATCOM and MILSATCOM projects.

Before joining COMSAT Laboratories, Mr. Murad worked at the NASA Center for Satellite and Hybrid Communications Networks where he was involved in research and development related to hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile communications systems, and complex multi-satellite systems. Mr. Murad graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Rika is a technology leader, VC investor, best-selling author, and frequent public speaker on industry transformation with emerging technologies. She is Chief Commercial Innovation at NTT, a leading technology and business services and solutions provider with more than 340,000 innovators around the world. Her current focus is advancing commercial and sustainability applications of Space & Satellite innovations and orchestrating impact initiatives across global public and private sectors for the next World Expo in Osaka 2025. Rika was selected for the exclusive Forbes 50>50 list in 2024, and for 2 consecutive years in 2022 and 2023 she has been awarded “Power 70” and “Power 80” recognition for the Women of Channel awards with The Channel Co’s CRN network. She has also been ranked as “Top 100 in Emerging Tech” by Women of the Future.

Trilingual in Japanese, German, and English, Rika grew up in Japan and moved to the US to attend Princeton University. Rika has since worked internationally in senior executive roles in strategy, business development, consulting, and marketing with Fortune 500 companies – NVIDIA, Accenture, Capgemini, Sony – and Silicon Valley startups. She is a digital innovation veteran and has served on multiple boards in AI, Next-Gen Computing, XR/VR/AR, and Cybersecurity AI ecosystems. Rika was co-founder of STRIDES AI and is currently a board director of Venus Shell Systems – a regenerative blue economy enterprise.

Rika is the best-selling author of “Dear Chairwoman” – featuring the trials and triumphs of women corporate board leaders. Her second book, featuring the intersection of sustainability, digital innovation, and the pandemic, called “Beyond the Black Swan: How the Pandemic and Digital Innovation Intensified the Sustainability Imperative – Everywhere”, was released by business/academic publisher Taylor & Francis in January 2024.

Aakash is Chief Commercial Officer at Pixxel, a space data company building the world’s first commercial hyperspectral constellation. He heads the growth functions of the business including global sales, marketing and customer success. Aakash has set up programs to facilitate access to Pixxel’s hyperspectral datasets and Earth Observation data platform for government and commercial customers. Aakash has spent the past decade in frontier technology sales and is passionate about bringing breakthrough innovations to new markets. Prior to joining Pixxel, Aakash led business development in international markets for various startups in the AgTech and PropTech domains.

Chris is the president of Quilty Space, an independent research and consulting firm that provides strategy, competitive benchmarking, financial analysis, and investment diligence on all aspects of the Satellite & Space industry.

Prior to establishing Quilty Spacein 2016, Chris served as a sell-side research analyst with Raymond James for 20 years, publishing hundreds of company-specific, macro, sector, and thematic research reports on the industrial, defense, space, wireless, and communications industries. Chris is widely-acknowledged as the leading Wall Street analyst on the Satellite & Space sector and has participated in 30 capital markets transactions over the past five years valued at over $2.5 billion

Chris received a BS degree in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1989 and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1994.

David Radi is responsible for driving innovation on behalf of Omnispace’s government solutions business. He brings a wealth of defense and space industry expertise to the role having previously served as the Director of Integrated Information Systems within Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Prior to that, he was the CEO of the Boeing-Kestrel business unit, providing analytic and technology solutions to a variety of U.S. government clients.

David’s business experience also includes responsibilities as Vice President for Operations, Chief Operating Officer and President at Kestrel Enterprises. Prior to that, David held a 20-year career as a naval intelligence officer serving on aircraft carriers and fleet command ships, as well as the Naval Aide to the Commander- in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet. Ashore assignments included duty on the National Security Council Staff in the White House Situation Room, command of the Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Plot, and service as the Deputy Executive Assistant to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and was a Federal Executive Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Md.

Colonel Jeremy A. Raley is the Commander of Phillips Research Site and Director of Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He leads a team of 1,080 military, civilian, and on-site contractors who comprise the nation’s center of excellence for military space science and technology, research and development, as well as advanced technologies integration and demonstration. His organization focuses on enduring United States Space Force space missions: communications; position, navigation and timing; missile warning; space domain awareness; and space control.

Colonel Raley received his commission in 1997 from the United States Air Force Academy. He started his career as a communications officer and transitioned into the developmental engineering career field after his graduate education. He has held a variety of positions in research and development as well as program management.

Prior to his current position, Colonel Raley was the Director of the Strategic Capabilities Group within the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. While there, he oversaw space-based research, development and acquisition activities for classified space acquisition programs assigned to the Space RCO and executed by the Strategic Capabilities Group.

Charles Rath is the President + CEO of RS21, an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company three years in a row and Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators. Created with the desire to help businesses and communities prepare for a dynamic and changing world, RS21 harnesses the power of data to help people make better, faster, smarter decisions.

Charles is a global thought leader in data science and artificial intelligence, regularly speaking at prestigious events such as the EY Strategic Growth Forum. Named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 Mountain Desert Region Award Winner and one of the Top U.S. Executives to watch in 2019, Charles brings a unique perspective on the future of technology, with a particular focus on doing good with data.

Under Charles’s leadership, RS21 has been nationally recognized for its SPAICE Resiliency Tool for satellite fault prediction. The AI-driven predictive maintenance and diagnostics tool has been accepted into the DoD Tradewind Solutions Marketplace for rapid acquisition of AI/ML technologies and the Catalyst Accelerator for AI/ML Space and Maritime Solutions. It was also part of NewSpace Ignitor, the Hyperspace Challenge, and received $1.5 million in funding for R&D and operationalization through Small Business Innovation Research grants from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.

Charles has positioned RS21 as a leader in innovative data analytics, supporting efforts in space, healthcare, defense, safety, urban planning, energy, cyber, land use, climate, disaster preparedness, disaster recovery, and social equity.

Prior to RS21, Charles led the Resilient Cities Program at Sandia National Laboratories. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from American University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s from the University of Missouri.

As Vice President – Global Launch Services, Brian is responsible for Rocket Lab’s global defense and civil launch portfolios. With a career spanning space and launch segments, Brian brings a transformative perspective to U.S. Government and Allies’ developmental and operational systems.

Before joining Rocket Lab, Brian was Advanced Systems Manager at Ball Aerospace, leading technology development programs for Defense and Intelligence customers across spacecraft and remote sensing payloads. Brian’s aerospace career includes leadership roles in launch vehicle design, manufacturing, and launch support of the Atlas V, Delta IV, and Vulcan-Centaur launch vehicles with United Launch Alliance, and systems engineering of the Ares launch vehicles at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, a Master of Science in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Denver, a Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University, and was awarded a US Utility Patent in 2014.

Even establishes True Anomaly’s strategic objectives and aligns resources for their execution. Prior to co-founding True Anomaly, Even served as an Air Force officer, leading interdisciplinary teams of space operators, scientists, and engineers to develop and evaluate the performance of military systems and tactics designed to protect U.S. and allied space assets.

Even is the author of six seminal texts that serve as foundational doctrine and training for U.S. military space operations. He was a major contributing author of the U.S. Space Force’s inaugural Spacepower: Doctrine for Space Forces. He has held leadership positions in space system developmental and operational test, training, spacecraft operations, and joint fires. In these roles, he provided key insights into the practices needed to successfully deploy space security satellites and supporting infrastructure.

Even was also a Service Chiefs Fellow at DARPA and a rendezvous and proximity operations intern with NASA’s Johnson Space Center. He graduated with honors from Virginia Military Institute and holds an M.A. from The University of Chicago in Social Sciences.

He managed a team of over 2,100 civilians and military service members and was responsible for building partnerships and defense cooperation with U.S. allies, including overseeing the $55B foreign military sales program and export controls.

Mr. Rood managed implementation of strategies, including the National Defense Strategy, resulting in a new focus on addressing the implications of growing competition with the world’s great powers China and Russia. He oversaw development of a new cyber strategy and authorities; a space strategy for the newly- established Space Force; completion of the Missile Defense Review; Nuclear Posture Review; and a counter-terrorism strategy for the defeat of ISIS.

From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Rood served at the State Department as Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation.

In two tours at the White House/National Security Council from 2005 to 2006 and 2001 to 2003, he served under President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counter- proliferation Strategy, and Director for Proliferation Strategy, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense. He played a key role in the President’s decision to deploy missile defenses to protect the United States and to withdraw from the 1972 ABM Treaty.

From 2003 to 2005, Rood served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Forces Policy, where he was responsible for the development and oversight of policy and programs related to U.S. nuclear and conventional strategic forces, missile defenses, and space.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Rood worked as Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and as a Fellow for Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi on the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on International Security. From 1988 to 1999, Rood served in a variety of positions as an analyst at the CIA, including following missile programs in foreign countries.

Mr. Rood holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Arizona State University.

Kenneth D. Running, Director of CJADC2 Programs at SAIC, spearheads initiatives of national significance, including the U.S. Air Force’s ABMS Cloud Based Command and Control program and the Joint Fires Network. With a robust background in advanced warfighting architectures, C5ISRT, ballistic and hypersonic missile defense systems, and C2 data-sharing frameworks, Kenneth is instrumental in guiding complex technical developments that shape the future of defense.

Since joining SAIC in 2007, Kenneth has held pivotal roles across aerospace engineering, and modeling and simulation domains. He has successfully led multidisciplinary teams, driving the execution of autonomous systems, radar management, technical analyses on IAMD systems, rules of engagement, and countermeasure development, ensuring our defense systems stay ahead in the rapidly evolving threat landscape. His expertise is recognized in publications such as the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

Mr. Running double majored at North Carolina State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in both applied mathematics and aerospace engineering, and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland-College Park.

Alvaro Sanchez is Integrasys CEO, Marquess of Antella (Noble Title 1649), Alvaro is Software and Industrial engineer by European University and a master’s degree in business by ESIC Business School. On 2022 he was considered one of the “20 under 35” young space and satellite professionals by the SSPI.
Alvaro during the last 10 years has worked at Integrasys as Management, Sales Executive roles where he was very successful growing the sales, revenue, profit, and responsibilities within the company; and previous to that he was working at CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research as an RF Engineer, measuring timing in a Nanosecond Synchronization for measuring the Neutrino Speed. Adding to his professional repertoire, in 2021 Alvaro collaborated with IE University to achieve his lifelong goal of helping others. He was professor of “Introduction to Business Management” at the Artificial Intelligence Degree. Recently he is focused on the company expansion, with the latest opening, INTEGRASYS Ukraine.

GP Sandhoo is the Vice President and Chief Architect at Quantum Space, focused on developing future space missions and architectures. He has over three decades of experience in space technology and national security, having held technical leadership roles at Northrop Grumman, IARPA, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, NASA, and JHU/APL.

He is also a seasoned military officer with 37+ years in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, where he primarily focused on operationalizing advanced space capabilities for national security, including during the RUS-UKR crisis. His education includes multiple advanced degrees in engineering, space systems, and national security. His career is characterized by his leadership in integrating emerging technologies into space missions.

With 20 years of in-house general counsel experience, Randy Segal brings an individual perspective to every matter she handles, both as your outside counsel and as someone who has walked in your shoes. With a focus on satellite, wireless, drone, and technology transactions, Randy provides commercially practical solutions in industries where technological change is ever-present. Randy’s practice often involves multi-level chess games, where every move needs to be considered from a multitude of angles to be successful.

As a result, Randy’s practice is reflected in three segments. First, as co-leader of the Space and Satellite practice, Randy has handled many types of transactions, from day-to-day matters to the most complex international transactions for industry operators, investors, and technology providers. She has been involved in taking companies public, advising on acquisitions, divestitures, and complex cross-border joint ventures, as well as large satellite system development, deployments and funding.

Second, as an advisor to technology investors and their portfolio companies, Randy has advised on transactions focused on big data analytics, IT, wireless systems, spectrum licenses, environmental analytics, wireless proximity analysis, drone technology, terrestrial positioning, and other innovative technologies.

Third, Randy provides “strand of pearls” advice to global clients, working seamlessly with our international offices to develop familiar, comfortable and “right-sized” solutions. Randy’s extensive cross-border experience has resulted in an extensive tool-kit of resolutions for the most complex of legal regimes. Randy’s transactional and advisory experience is both deep and broad, working throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and on the most complex of international programs and legal issues.

Thomas J. Sharpy, Lieutenant General, US Air Force (Ret), brings over 39 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Air Force, leading thousands in peacetime and crisis operations. His military career culminated as the lead Allied Command Transformation senior executive, where he was responsible for developing strategic capabilities for NATO’s 30 member nations. He also championed NATO’s Command and Control, Cyber Security, and Joint Air Power Competence Centers of Excellence.

Currently, Tom is the Vice President of Customer Development at Portal Space Systems. He is also the founder of Sharpy Group LLC, where he has delivered keynote addresses for NATO and served on several advisory boards. His experience includes managing budgets exceeding $15B and overseeing the introduction of the KC-46 tanker aircraft. Notably, he led combat operations in Libya and hurricane relief in Puerto Rico and received commendations from Vice President Cheney for his actions during the 9/11 attacks.

A Command Pilot with over 4,000 flying hours, Tom has held key command positions and led significant HR initiatives at the Pentagon. He holds an MBA and a Master’s in National Resource Strategy and is a Harvard Senior Executive Fellow. He and his wife Lori have two sons in the Air Force.

Tim Sills is an experienced technical leader with over 20 years of cybersecurity experience in performing security assessments, architecting for compliance, and performing application/network-layer penetration testing. He has worked in the aerospace industry having supported ground station operations and developed satellite communications solutions while with Hughes Space & Communications and AWS. As the Lead Security Solutions Architect for the Americas at AWS, he is responsible for developing security focused cloud solutions that includes AI/ML and high-performance computing workloads for aerospace and satellite customers.

Kimberly Siversen Burke began her media and public relations career in the nonprofit healthcare sector before transitioning to an editorial role with the international publishing firm Naylor Association Solutions. After discovering an unexpected passion for the space sector while developing marketing strategies for a cislunar startup, she joined Quilty Space (“the OGs of Space”) in 2021.

Kimberly led Quilty’s rebranding efforts, developing a new website, brand identity, and social media & marketing strategies. She was instrumental in launching the Quilty Space business intelligence dashboard and new offerings like Quilty QuickTakes and the Quilty SpaceTake news brief. Among her proudest early accomplishments was convincing the Quilty crew to embrace wide PowerPoint slides and ditch the Calibri font.

Supporting Quilty’s research and investment banking divisions, Kimberly devotes her days to content creation, editorial direction, and endless data wrangling. Recently, she began channeling her focus on the government space and commercial megaconstellation market. She crafts Quilty’s megaconstellation monthly report, infusing humor into the latest developments for Starlink and other megas. She prides herself on keeping Quilty’s clients updated with “PWSAnnouncements,” thanks to her tracking the Space Development Agency’s movements like a heat-seeking missile.

Kimberly received her B.S. in Journalism & Public Relations from the University of Florida in .

Experienced innovation and engineering executive across multiple industries including wireless networking (cellular and WiFi), consumer electronics, silicon platforms, and large-scale cloud client computing. Currently CTO of Carnegie Technologies. Other roles included SVP Software Engineering at Comcast NBC Universal, VP of Engineering at Cable Vision Systems, VP Silicon Platform at Motorola PCS, CTO of Dell’s Client Solutions Group, and CTO Broadband at Texas Instruments. He was a founder and CTO of two successful startups: Wi-Fi innovation leader Aironet Wireless (acquired by Cisco) and 4G wireless innovator Raze Technologies. He started his career at the National Security Agency.

Dr. Derek Tournear is the Director of the Space Development Agency (SDA). Established in March 2019, SDA is recognized as the Department of Defense’s constructive disruptor for space acquisition. SDA will quickly deliver much needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Before leading SDA, Dr. Tournear most recently served as Assistant Director of Research and Development for Space within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering where he was responsible for coordinating all DoD efforts in space and initiating programs to address critical gaps.

Dr. Tournear previously held leadership roles in industry, most recently the director for Harris Corporation Space & Intelligence research & development. Prior to industry, Dr. Tournear held program management positions at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He has professional experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) managing intelligence and defense programs.

Dr. Tournear has a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University and a B.S. from Purdue University. In 2010 he received an Outstanding Alumnus award from Purdue University and a 2008 DARPA award for Outstanding Accomplishments in a Systems Technology Area. Dr. Tournear is a 2011, and 2020 recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, and a 2012 recipient of the Office of Director of National Intelligence Award for Exceptional Public Service. Additionally, Dr. Tournear is the recipient of a 2021 Space News award, 2021 Theodore Roosevelt Government Leadership award, 2021 Wash 100 award, as well as the 2022 Aviation Week Laureate. He was selected for the Senior Executive Service in 2019.

Aníbal Villalba is Chief Strategy & Public Affairs Officer at PLD Space, the first private European company to successfully launch a rocket into space in October 2023, positioning Spain as one of the ten countries with such capabilities.

After studying at the Academia General Militar in Spain, he earned a Ph.D. in Political Science and Sociology from UNED with a doctoral thesis titled “Cybersecurity in Spain 2011-2015: A Proposed Organizational Model.” He also holds a Master’s degree in Analysis and Management of Public Policies from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

In his military career, Aníbal Villalba is an Infantry Colonel and a General Staff graduate. His most recent position was Defense, Military, Naval, and Air Attaché at the Spanish Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, based in Riyadh (2017-2020). Other assignments include serving with the Airborne Brigade, Crisis Plans at NATO Headquarters in Naples, Professor of Strategy and International Relations at the General Staff Course, Commander of a Mechanized Infantry Battalion, and the Spanish Embassy in Beirut. He graduated from the U.S. Infantry School Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, GA, in 1989. He has also served in seven overseas operations with the UN, EU, and NATO in Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Lebanon

Additionally, he has held various positions such as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Spanish Prime Minister, Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence, Director of the National Cybersecurity Plan, and Strategic Planning Director at the State-Owned Real Estate Management Company SEGIPSA.

He is the author of 21 publications on intelligence, international security, terrorism, and cybersecurity.

He speaks Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Brian Weimer is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and Leader of the firm’s Telecom Team and Co-Leader of the CFIUS Team. Mr. Weimer provides regulatory and transactional advice across the entire telecommunications ecosystem. He is perhaps best known as a leading lawyer for the satellite industry, and he leads the firm’s Space & Satellite practice as well.

Brian’s experience includes:

• Obtains market access and FCC licenses for space station operators, both GEO and Non-GEO.

• Advises companies on obtaining cable landing licenses and the regulatory issues presented by undersea cable companies.

• Advises satellite and wireless companies on regulatory proceedings impacting the value, uses, availability, and sharing of spectrum resources.

• Lobbies the FCC at the highest levels to achieve optimal outcomes for clients on their most important regulatory proceedings.

• Assists telecom companies navigate the myriad regulatory approvals necessary to consummate M&A deals, including Team Telecom and CFIUS.

• Secures special temporary authority and experimental licenses for telecom companies of all kinds.

• Prepares petitions for declaratory ruling to exceed foreign ownership benchmarks under the Communications Act.

• Obtain earth station licenses for satellite networks.

• Advises on regulatory aspects of business plans to assist fundraising efforts by start-up companies.

• Analyzes feasibility of foreign investment in telecom (and other) companies in light of strictures imposed by the Communications Act, Team Telecom, and CFIUS.

• Prepares applications for 214 authorization at the FCC and similar initiatives at the State level.

• Advises foreign companies on the need for and structuring of proxy companies in the U.S. to assist in obtaining specialized U.S. government contracts.

• Serves as a trusted advisor to founders and entrepreneurs in their most important strategic decisions as they relate to FCC, ITU, and market access actions around the world.

• Negotiates and drafts commercial contracts and M&A agreements for telecom companies.

• Advises companies through regulatory enforcement proceedings at the FCC and other federal agencies.

• Counsels telecom companies through restructuring efforts, including Chapter 11.

• Advises media and other telecom companies with all manner of regulatory requirements for their businesses.

John leads space products for Aitech Systems where he defines new product development and business development strategies. Leaning on his space experience, John provides support to the business development team and to customer to translate their needs to COTS base system solutions.

John brings 30 years of manned space experience which includes the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and Blue Origin. He also led IRAD and CRAD programs for all of McDonnell Douglas. John has 9 awarded patents, has been published in IEEE, SAE and other industry white papers and has received several honors for technology advancement from these organization.

Dr. Andrew ‘Andy’ Williams is the Deputy Technology Executive Officer for Space at the Air Force Research Laboratory. His responsibilities include integrating and executing AFRL’s space science and technology (S&T) investment strategy and serving as the primary focal point for USSF to deliver game changing technology and new capabilities to the warfighter. In addition, he leads strategic S&T engagement and planning with partners throughout the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, NASA, industry, and academia.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Dr. Williams joined AFRL as a Palace Acquire Intern in 2003. In 2006, he was tasked with initiating a new research program in spacecraft thermal control. Within three years, he grew the program to $35M in contract and in-house research and led five experiments flying on sounding rockets, the International Space Station, and NASA’s Zero-g Aircraft. In 2009, he became Deputy PM for Integrated Structural Systems, and in 2013, he took over as PM where he led a team of 34 scientist and engineers executing a $140M research portfolio ranging from basic research to tech transition in deployable structures, thermal control, structural sensing, and 3D printing. In 2018, he transitioned to Space Mission Area Lead for AFRL where he focused on customer engagement to deliver S&T for USSF tech needs.

EDUCATION

2002   Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University

2005   Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado

2016   Doctorate of Philosophy in Engineering, University of New Mexico

CAREER CHRONOLOGY

1. June 2003 – July 2006, Palace Acquire Intern, AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland AFB, NM
2. July 2006 – November 2009, Thermal Systems Lead, AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate
3. November 2009 – August 2013, Deputy Program Manager, Integrated Structural Systems, AFRL/RV
4. August 2013 – April 2018, Program Manager, Integrated Structural Systems, AFRL/RV
5. April 2018 – October 2018, Section Chief, Advanced Power and Integrated Structures, AFRL/RV
6. October 2018 – November 2021, Space Mission Area Lead, AFRL, Kirtland AFB, NM

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

2009 Air Force Research Laboratory, Junior Civilian Engineer of the Year

2011 Science, Technology & Engineering Award for Exploratory or Advanced Tech Development

2016 Federal Laboratory Consortium; Notable Tech Development Award for Roll-Out Solar Array

2017 Associate Fellow in the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

2017 R&D 100 Award for the Roll-Out Solar Array

2017 Federal Laboratory Consortium; Notable Tech Development Awards for High Strain Composites

2017 Federal Laboratory Consortium; Notable Tech Development Awards for Oscillating Heat Pipes

2018 RNASA Stellar Team Award for the Roll-Out Solar Array

2018 R&D 100 Award for Oscillating Heat Pipes

Deputy Commander

Combined Joint Task Force Space Operations

United States Space Command

816 13th Street, Vandenburg Space Force Base, California 93437