Mark Holmes is the Editorial Director of Via Satellite, the Program Chair for the Global Connected Aircraft Summit and CyberSat. He is also Director of Strategic Content for the SATELLITE show. Mark has been at Access Intelligence (AI) over seventeen years, working on a variety of titles in telecoms, broadband, digital TV, aviation and satellite. Mark has been with AI's Aerospace Group for over nine years.

Mark has played a key role in building the 'Global Connected Aircraft Summit' event, which launched eight years ago and has been a huge success story for AI.

Before joining Access Intelligence, Mark was deputy editor of leading Euromoney Institutional Investor title Global Telecoms Business. In this position, Mark interviewed the CEOs of many leading telcos world-wide including, BT, Verizon, France Telecom, Sprint, SBC etc. In the last 20 years, Mark has interviewed hundreds of C-Suite executives in the telecoms, satellite, broadcast, aviation, broadband and cable space.

Mark Dankberg is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Viasat, Inc. He co-founded the company in 1986. Under his leadership, Viasat has consistently been one of America's fastest growing technology companies, and has been recognized multiple times by leading business and industry publications including BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, DefenseNews, SpaceNews, and Washington Technology for its leadership.

Mark is a leading expert in aerospace, defense, and satellite systems and participates in both national and international organizations involved in delivering, defining, and governing space systems and services, including:

• The US National Academy of Engineering, a part of the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine
• The President's National Security Telecom Advisory Committee
• As a commissioner-elect of the United Nations ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for sustainable development
• Founding Chairman of the Mobile Satellite Services Association
• Board of Directors of the Global Satellite Operators Association

He is globally recognized for leadership in defining, researching, and measuring safe, sustainable, and equitable access to scarce space orbital and spectrum resources as well as technologies and regulations that support achieving the benefits of space integration into national infrastructures while preserving the space and earth environment. He has co-authored and published research papers has been an invited speaker on these and other topics in numerous technical, industry, and governance venues.

Mark has received numerous awards for his industry and business leadership:

• San Diego Business Journal's SD500 Leaders
• 2022 Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2018 UC San Diego CONNECT Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
• 2017 LEAD San Diego Economic Opportunity Award
• 2016 Director of the Year Honoree by San Diego-based Corporate Directors Forum
• 2015 Society of Satellite Professionals Hall of Fame
• 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Industry Innovator
• 2013 San Diego Business Journal Most Admired CEO Founders Award
• 2012 Visionary Executive of the Year, Satellite Markets and Research
• 2008 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace International Communications Award
• 2003 Satellite Industry Executive of the Year
• 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year in San Diego in 2000

Prior to founding Viasat, Mark was Assistant Vice President of M/A-COM Linkabit, a manufacturer of satellite telecommunications equipment, from 1979 to 1986, and Communications Engineer for Rockwell International Corporation from 1977 to 1979.

He earned B.S. EE and M.S. EE degrees from Rice University and is a member of the Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering Hall of Fame.

Stéphane Israël is the Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, the European company that markets and
operates the Ariane and Vega launch vehicles from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in
French Guiana. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of ArianeGroup, the industrial prime
contractor for Ariane launchers.

Stéphane Israël has extensive experience in both government economics and the aerospace industry. He
holds degrees from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA). In
2001, he was named a judge in the French Court of Auditors, where he mostly addressed question
concerning French space policy and the Ariane launch system.

He joined Airbus in 2007, first as advisor to the CEO, then in various operational management positions
in the space division.

From May 2012 to April 2013, he was chief of staff in the cabinet of the French Minister for Productive
Recovery, Ministry of Industry, Digital Economy, SMEs and Innovation.

Stéphane Israël was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace in April 2013. When
Arianespace's governance structure changed in April 2017, he became Chief Executive Officer of
Arianespace and a member of parent company ArianeGroup's Executive Committee.
Stéphane Israël is Chairman of the Board of Directors of CNAM (Conservatoire national des arts et
métiers), and is on the Board of Directors of Carrefour (senior director and chairman of the audit
committee) and Ecole Normale Supérieure.

William (Bill) Milroy currently serves as Chairman and CTO of ThinKom Solutions, Inc., located in Hawthorne, CA and focused on the design, development, and manufacture of innovative antenna access solutions for the Fixed and Mobile Broadband Wireless Communication markets.

Prior to co-founding ThinKom, Mr. Milroy held the position of Senior Engineering Fellow within the Electromagnetic Systems Department of Raytheon's Electronic Systems (ES) Segment. During his tenure at Raytheon (Hughes Aircraft), Mr. Milroy managed and led the RF antenna design, development, and manufacture of a wide range of antenna array implementations and products for radar and communication applications in both the commercial and military marketplaces including 1-D and 2-D Electronically-Scanned Arrays (ESA's).

Mr. Milroy is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, earning BSEE, MSEE, and Engineer (Ph.D. course, field, and examination requirements) degrees. He is the author or co-author of nine journal and symposia papers in the fields of Network Analysis, Circuits, Antennas, and Microwaves. He is the inventor or co-inventor of 45+ US Patents in the fields of Electromagnetic Scattering, Materials, Microwave Devices, and Antennas. Mr. Milroy is a past Chairman of the Los Angeles Chapter of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (APS), Guest Lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Business Management, and a past Technical Reviewer for both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the IEEE APS Transactions Journal.

Bladimiros (Blad) Stavropoulos has over 15 years of experience in the Satellite Communication industry and is currently the Sr Director Solution Engineering at Intellian Technologies. Blad led the development of the world's first automatic switching 2.4m multi-orbit & tri-band VSAT antenna system. Intellian's v240MT won the Satellite Technology of the Year Award in 2018.

Blad earned his PHD in Advance Cyber Security after completing his MBA at Universidad Metropolitana, Venezuela. He specializes in advanced network design, Cyber Security and the fundamentals of Cryptography. In addition to English, Blad is fluent in Spanish and Italian.

Blad is based in Florida but has traveled the world to share his expertise on Satellite Systems. In addition to traveling, Blad has a passion for Scuba Diving, Baseball and the Marvel universe.

Dan Goldberg became President and Chief Executive Officer of Telesat in 2006. Prior to joining Telesat, Mr. Goldberg served as Chief Executive Officer of SES New Skies, a position he held following the purchase of New Skies by SES. During that time, Mr. Goldberg also served as a member of the SES Executive Committee. Prior to the acquisition by SES, Mr. Goldberg served as Chief Executive Officer of New Skies, and before that served as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel.

Before joining New Skies, Mr. Goldberg served as Associate General Counsel and Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs at PanAmSat. He began his career as an associate at Covington & Burling and then Goldberg, Godles, Wiener & Wright, law firms in Washington D.C.

Mr. Goldberg is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board for the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) and was the inaugural Chair of the Space Canada board of directors. He obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, graduating with the highest honors, and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude.

Mr. Baugh serves as the President and Founder of Northern Sky Research (NSR), which he created in 2000 to provide independent, actionable market research and consulting services to the satellite industry. Mr. Baugh directs all NSR multi-client research reports and single-client consulting projects, and manages a global team of analysts that stand at the forefront of satellite industry expertise.

Before forming NSR, Mr. Baugh served as Senior Analyst for Pioneer Consulting where he covered all aspects of the satellite market. Prior to Pioneer, Mr. Baugh was an International Trade Specialist and Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC. While at the Department of Commerce, Mr. Baugh was a recipient of the Charles F. Meissner Memorial Award for his work on trade negotiations in the International Trade Administration.
Mr. Baugh also has extensive legislative and analytical experience from his work for the Committee on International Relations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, both in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. Baugh holds a Bachelor's Degree from Westminster College and a Master's Degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Caleb Henry is the director of research for Quilty Space, a boutique financial research firm focused on the space industry. Prior to Quilty, he spent seven years as a journalist, reporting on business and policy developments affecting satellite operators, launch service providers and other players in the space industry.

Amy Saunders has worked in the aerospace publishing sector for more than five years. She was appointed as Editor of Satellite Evolution Group in 2016, producing Satellite Evolution Asia, EMEA, Americas, NewSpace International and Global Military Communications.
Before joining Satellite Evolution, Amy edited several industrial materials B2B magazines and completed her PhD in Chemistry at the University of Sussex.

After graduating from HEC in 1992, Rodolphe Belmer began his career in the marketing department of Procter & Gamble France before joining McKinsey in 1998. In 2001, he joined Groupe Canal where he was appointed as Head of Marketing and Strategy in 2002. From 2003 onwards he oversaw the editorial division of the group, initially as CEO of Canal+, and from 2006 onwards, as head of all the pay-TV channels. He led the diversification of the Group into free-to-air television in 2011, notably through the acquisition and relaunch of D8 and D17. In 2012, he was appointed as CEO of Groupe Canal, in which capacity he focused on overhauling both the commercial and technological models of the company to enable it to rise to the challenge of OTT.

Steve Collar was appointed CEO of SES in April 2018, having previously led both O3b Networks and SES Networks. As CEO of O3b Networks, Steve guided the company through the successful build and launch of its state-of-the-art non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite constellation. In 2015, the company officially became the fastest-growing satellite operator in history. O3b was fully acquired by SES in 2016, and now forms an integral part of SES Networks.
British-born Steve is an industry veteran, having held a variety of commercial, business development and technical roles at SES World Skies, SES New Skies, New Skies Satellites, Astrium, and Matra Marconi Space (now Airbus).

Pradman P. Kaul is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Communications, Inc. (HUGHES)and Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes. Hughes is the world's leading supplier of broadband satellite services and networks and a leading provider of managed network services using satellite, terrestrial and wireless technologies. With annual revenues of over $1 billion, Hughes is the leading provider of high-speed satellite Internet services in the U.S. Hughes also designs and manufacturs mobile satellite networks and terminals, and broadband LMDS point-to-multipoint systems. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, U.S.A., Hughes has offices in 11 countries and customers in over 100 countries.

Before joining Hughes, Mr. Kaul worked at COMSAT Laboratories in Clarksburg, MD.

Mr. Kaul received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He holds numerous patents and has published articles and papers on a variety of technical topics concerning satellite communications.

In October 2004, Mr. Kaul was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. Mr. Kaul was selected as a "Distinguished Engineering Alumnus" of the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 and "Distinguished Alumnus" at George Washington University, Washington DC in 2005. He was awarded the IEEE Third Millennium medal in 2000. In 2009, Mr. Kaul was inducted into the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) Hall of Fame and was awarded "Satellite Executive of the Year 2008" by Via Satellite magazine. He is also on the boards of several organizations.

As President and COO of SpaceX, Gwynn Shotwell is responsible for day-to-day operations and managing all customer and strategic relations to support company growth. She joined SpaceX in 2002 as Vice President of Bussiness Development and built the Falcon vehicle family manifest to more than 100 launches, representing more than $15 billion in business. Shotwell is a member of the SpaceX Board of Directors.

Prior to joining SpaceX, Shotwell spent more than 10 years at the Aerospace Corporation, holding positions in Space Systems Engineering, Technology and Project Management. She was promoted to the role of Chief Engineer of the MLV-class satellite program, managed a landmark study for the Federal Aviation Administration on commercial space transportation, and completed an extensive analysis of space policy for NASA's future investment in space transportation.

In addition to being included on Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020, Shotwell was awarded the 2020 Von Karman Wings award. In 2018 Shotwell was named the Satellite Executive of the Year and she was awarded the AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award as well as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Ralph Coats Roe Medal. Fortune Magazine placed Shotwell at #42 on their list of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders in 2018 and Forbes named her #55 on their list of Power Women in 2019. Gwynne was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2020 and in 2019 was appointed to the National Space Council Users' Advisory Group. In 2014, Shotwell was appointed to the United States Export Import Bank's Advisory Committee and the Federal Aviation Administration's American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Through leadership in both corporate and external science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, Shotwell has helped raise over $1.8 million for STEM programs reaching thousands of students nationwide.

Shotwell received, with honors, her bachelor's and master's degrees from Northwestern University in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics, and serves on their Board. She has authored dozens of papers on a variety of space related subjects.

As leader of the firm's Transportation and Space Group in Washington, D.C., Dara's practice involves representation of satellite and space infrastructure operators, aerospace manufacturers, launch services providers, connectivity, earth observation and data services companies, banks, private equity firms, hedge funds and other investors in debt and equity offerings, project, structured and vendor financings, mergers & acquisitions, financial restructurings and in negotiating commercial contracts. He also advises on regulatory, sanctions, anti-corruption, national security and export control matters.

Mark is the CEO and co-founder of Seraphim, an investment firm exclusively focused on SpaceTech domain globally. Seraphim launched the world's first Space VC fund in 2016. Now operating Seraphim Space Accelerator on three continents, with >$350m raised for the seed stage alumni. Seraphim also operates a space growth fund, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Across these three elements Seraphim has built a portfolio of over 100 SpaceTech startups - the world's most prolific investor in the space domain.

Mike Collett is Founder and Managing Partner of Promus Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Chicago investing in deep-technology software and hardware companies in the U.S. and Europe. Mike has been a venture capital investor in software and hardware for over 15 years. He has invested in more than 60 private technology companies, including areas such as artificial intelligence, space, virtual reality/ alternative reality, machine learning, robotics, natural language processing, autonomous vehicles/connected car, bitcoin/blockchain, computer vision, digital health, fintech, insurance, nanotechnology and others.
Mike has invested in such leading companies as AngelList, Rocket Lab, Kensho, and Mapbox and currently serves on numerous Boards of Directors of private technology companies, including Spire, Layer, Gauss Surgical, Dispatch and others.
Mike previously was Founder and Managing Partner of Masters Capital Nanotechnology Fund, a venture capital firm, where he invested in technology companies focused on quantum cascade lasers, quantum dots, photonic integrated optoelectronic devices, and others. While at Masters Capital, a hedge fund, Mike invested in private software and hardware technology startups.
Prior to venture capital, Mike was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch in their Mergers & Acquisitions group as well as an Associate at Duff & Phelps.
Mike holds a Bachelor's of Science in Math and Bachelor's of Arts in English from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Mike and his wife Paige have four children and live in Chicago.
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Promus Ventures website

Michael co-founded Masten Space Systems, was CTO of Seraph Group (a seed stage VC fund), is the CEO of the Waypaver Foundation, and the President of the Moon Society. He has helped build several startups over the years ranging from telecom consulting to social media. He received an MBA from Georgia Tech in 2011.

His experience building companies and teams from scratch, raising money for those companies, and investing in similar companies has given Michael a view both the successes and failures at every stage of building sustainable companies.

Sunil Nagaraj is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ubiquity Ventures, a seed-stage institutional venture capital firm that invests in "software beyond the screen"™ startups. This includes B2B technology companies that utilize smart hardware or machine learning to solve business problems outside the reach of computers and smartphones. By transforming real-world physical problems into the domain of software, Ubiquity startups tap into large greenfield markets and offer more effective solutions.

Sunil currently serves on the boards of Esper, Halter, Kinetic, Parallel Domain, Safehub, Sensable, ThruWave and other undisclosed investments.

Prior to founding Ubiquity Ventures, Sunil spent six years as a venture capitalist with Bessemer Venture Partners where his work included leading the seed rounds of Auth0 (acquired by Okta) and Zapier as well as investments in Defense.Net (acquired by F5 Networks), Rainforest QA, Rocket Lab, Spire, Tile, and Twitch (acquired by Amazon). Prior to being an investor, Sunil was founder/CEO of Triangulate, a VC-backed online dating startup using machine learning and behavioral data to improve matching accuracy. He has also worked at Bain & Company, Cisco, and Microsoft.

Sunil holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves on several non-profit boards: NextGen Partners (a Bay Area VC networking organization), the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (as President-Elect), and the Harvard Business School California Research Center. He is also an Alumni Advisor to the Harvard MS/MBA program. He spends his free time playing piano, sailing, and nerding out on new technologies.

Thomas Van den Driessche is the president of the executive strategic board & chief commercial officer of ST Engineering iDirect, where he is responsible for defining our strategy, execution and communications to achieve short- and long-term goals.

Over the past 18 years, he has been active in the broadcast and satellite markets. Prior to ST Engineering iDirect, Van den Driessche was the CEO of Newtec where, during his 11-year tenure, he held various positions including sales and business development, VP of market strategy, and chief commercial officer, before becoming CEO.

Preceding Newtec, he began his career as a product manager in the broadcast and AV market, and received awards for his work by leading organizations such as NAB, Infocomm and Vanguard.

Van den Driessche holds a Master's degree in electronics and marketing from the University of Ghent.

Rachel Jewett is the managing editor of Via Satellite. She covers the space and satellite industry and manages Via Satellite magazine and daily news.

Peter Hadinger is Chief Technology Officer of Inmarsat, leading a team developing the next generation of global mobile connectivity. With four decades of engineering and innovation experience in the satellite industry, his background spans key roles in technology, regulatory, policy and business. Since joining Inmarsat 10 years ago, Peter was instrumental in the creation of the Global Xpress programme, ran the company's US Government business for several years and has helped to create many new and innovative products to meet challenging customer needs. He previously worked on advanced government satellite programmes at TRW/Northrop Grumman.

Bryan J. Hartin, has served as Iridium's Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing since December 2012. From June 2009 to December 2012, Mr. Hartin served as Senior Vice President of Sales, Distribution and Business Development of LightSquared, a telecommunications company. From May 2008 to June 2009, Mr. Hartin worked as an independent consultant to companies in the wireless telecommunications industry. From 2003 to May 2008, Mr. Hartin was Vice President--Indirect Distribution of Sprint Nextel Corporation. Mr. Hartin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from LeMoyne College and a Master of Business Administration degree from The American University.

Ronald van der Breggen, Chief Commercial Office of Rivada Space Networks, has more than 20 years of experience in the telecom and satellite sectors and is the author of many industry related opinion pieces as published in ViaSatellite and SpaceWatch Global. A native of the Netherlands, van der Breggen began his telecom career at Dutch Telecom incumbent KPN and KPNQwest, rising to the position of VP IP Services where he was initially responsible for network roll-out and later commercial development. He then joined SES, one of the world's leading satellite operators as Vice President Customer Account Management, globally in charge of service fulfillment and customer care across the entire SES fleet. From 2015 to 2019 he served as Chief Commercial Officer of LeoSat. Ronald holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Nijenrode University as well as a Master's degree in Business Telecommunications from the Technical University of Delft, both in the Netherlands.

Neil is the Chief Executive Officer of the global communications company OneWeb. He joined the company in October 2020 to lead it through the next phase of its growth under the new joint ownership of the UK Government and Bharti Global Ltd.

Before joining OneWeb, Neil spent over 20 years at Thomson Reuters in a number of roles, ultimately ending as co-COO of the global news, information and software group. In this leadership position he was responsible for over $6bn of revenues and oversaw 20,000 staff, ensuring both the profitability and overall business performance of the business across all of its marketing, digital, commercial operations, technology, cyber, and content functions.

During his career at Thomson Reuters Neil has built up an impressive track record of delivering outstanding operational results involving M&A/divestitures (20 in total), rapid scaling of services, cost take-outs (close to $1bn saved at enterprise level), organisational restructuring, and talent upgrading in senior executive roles.

Neil's most notable achievements during his stint as COO included: the successful reframing of Thomson Reuters' enterprise strategy; the leveraging of emerging technology and digital within the business; the delivery of new capabilities to add industry-leading data and content to the company's offer; and, the integration of 300 disparate businesses following a decade of acquisitions into one common culture and lexicon - all ultimately helping to deliver growth in market share that drove $8bn of value creation for shareholders.

Neil has also served in a number of independent senior advisory roles, including on the board of the financial information company Refinitiv and on the board of advisors for the global technology company IBM.

Before joining Thomson Reuters, Neil spent 10 years at KPMG. He has a BA in Geography from University College London and is a Chartered Accountant.

Thomas Choi has more than 30 years of experience in the Satellite and Aerospace industry. He was previously CEO of ABS, one of the fastest growing satellite operators in the world.

Prior to ABS, Tom was the founder and CEO of Speedcast. He also worked at Hughes Communications International and at Rockwell International. He has a MBA and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering both from the University of Southern California.

Tom is a member of the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Communications Council (APSCC) and previously served on the Board of CASBAA.

He was the Satellite Executive of the year in 2012 and the Satellite Executive of the year in Asia Pacific Award 2012 (APSCC).

Tom will be inducted shorty into the Satellite Hall of Fame by the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) for 2017.

Karen L. Jones is a senior space policy analyst and economist in the Center for Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corporation. In this role she analyzes space market trends and technologies that impact government missions and commercial markets. She has published numerous papers addressing: game changing technologies, direct-to-device satellite connectivity, disruptive innovation, public private partnerships, blockchain, undersea cables, wireless technologies and space based remote sensing strategies to address climate change and environmental accountability. Karen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration from Yale University.

Stephen has extensive experience at both established and entrepreneurial space firms. After beginning his career as an analyst at DFI International, a boutique aerospace consultancy, he subsequently served as sponsorship manager for the X PRIZE Cup and as Head of Sales for Excalibur Almaz, a private human spaceflight company. As a Vice President at Space Services Holdings, Stephen led sales and marketing for a group of four companies and a variety of launches of several different rockets. He then moved to Surrey Satellite US, helping establish the world's leading small satellite manufacturer's presence in North America. Now, Stephen Eisele serves as Vice President for Business at Virgin Orbit where he leads the commercial business and strategic development for the company, as well as oversees the Mission Management team.

Lilac Muller, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Product Management at Kymeta Corporation. She is responsible for product strategy, product definition and product launch activities. Lilac has extensive product development experience in the consumer electronics, medical devices and telecommunication industries where she has led cradle-to-grave product development efforts with a focus on performance, quality and customer experience. As a technical and business leader, she has a track record of delivering technically-challenging products that operate in complex ecosystems. Dr. Muller has a bachelor's and master's degrees in Aeronautics/Astronautics from MIT and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley.

Frederik Simoens is the Chief Technology Officer at ST Engineering iDirect, where he is responsible for the oversight of all technology decisions and serves to drive the strategic direction for product development, technology roadmap and technology alliances.

Previously, Simoens worked at Newtec where he worked on physical layer technologies, launched the DVB-S2X standard within Newtec's platform, and in 2015, became VP of product management, which led to a promotion to CTO.

His key areas of expertise include physical layer technologies, satellite communications and digital modems. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Ghent and is the author of 40+ publications.

Simoens obtained a Master degree in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. degree in digital communications, both from the University of Ghent. He also holds an MBA degree from the Vlerick Business School.

Matt Desch is the Chief Executive Officer of Iridium Communications Inc., the only satellite communications company that offers truly global voice and data coverage. He has more than 40 years of experience in telecommunications management, and more than 30 years in the global wireless industry. Joining Iridium in 2006, Desch has been responsible for leading the innovation and growth of Iridium, which includes taking the company public on Nasdaq (IRDM) in 2009, completing the financing and development of Iridium® NEXT, the company's $3 billion investment in upgrading the Iridium network with powerful new satellites, and launching Iridium Certus®, a multi-service broadband platform enabled by the upgraded constellation. With Mr. Desch at the helm, Iridium's active subscriber base has grown from 150,000 in 2006, to nearly 1.8 million today, and dramatically expanded its operational earnings and free cash flow, while moving into important new services like global space-based aircraft tracking with its joint-venture, Aireon. Mr. Desch serves as a member of the U.S. President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and is a member on the Board of Trustees of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Board of Directors of Unisys, global IT services firm. Mr. Desch holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from The Ohio State University and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago

Klaus Bruun Egeberg leads the strategic development of Maersk's technology and IT to deliver future customer-centric capabilities for one of the world's largest shipping lines. Throughout his career, he has created ground-breaking products and platforms for the company. He is an experienced maritime industry executive, skilled electrician, programmer, project manager, technical manager and technological strategist. He is passionate about technology and how it can be used to create and shape the future.

Will Mudge is the Executive Vice President and CTO of Speedcast. Will has spent his career across multiple disciplines in various leadership roles including head of R&D engineering, strategic product marketing, and program management at Speedcast, Harris Caprock and Harris Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the World Teleport Association and frequently lends his expertise to industry discussions on next-generation technologies, including Low Earth Orbit constellations. Will holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Jeff serves as the executive chairman of the annual SATELLITE conference and exhibition in Washington D.C., overseeing the creation of the conference program and emceeing the event. He is also the creator and producer of Via Satellite's On Orbit podcast and the host of Via Satellite's Future Space Economy and Technology Webcast Series. Over the course of his 15-year career, Jeff has become one of the most connected people in the space and satellite industry. He has interviewed prominent space and technology leaders such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Bea Perez, Emily Calandrelli, and Charles Bolden, as well as hundreds of policy makers, investors, influencers and executives from all over the world.

Rich Leshner has been working in the DC space policy community for fifteen years, working in the non-profit, government, and industry sectors. Rich's NASA experience had him working on international projects for collaboration in exploration, managing a $150 million portfolio of innovative small business research, and working in the Administrator's office. He worked for two years at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he supported the development of the 2010 National Space Policy as well as championed reforms to more fully integrate commercial space capabilities into national programs. He currently works for Planet, the small satellite Earth observing start-up based in California.

Paul Woods is the architect of the Global Fishing Watch technology platform. He served as interim CEO as the organization was set up as independent in 2017, and now leads development of new technologies and applications of big data and remote sensing to solving challenging problems in ocean ecosystems. Paul is a software engineer and veteran of several software startup companies working in finance, telemedicine, and big data. Prior to Global Fishing Watch, Paul served as Chief Technology Officer at SkyTruth, where he built a dedicated team of inspired technologists committed to using remote sensing, big data, and cloud computing to promote better environmental conservation around the world.

Nathan de Ruiter is Novaspace's Partner & Managing Director, based in Montreal, Canada. He brings nearly two decades of consulting experience to Novaspace, offering strategic guidance to an array of international clients. His client-focused approach spans satellite operators, manufacturers, service providers, government agencies, and financial institutions. Nathan's expertise ensures seamless execution of client engagements, underpinned by robust project management and quality assurance practices. Nathan will lead our transaction advisory services.

Prior to Novaspace, Nathan was Senior Manager at S.M. International Financial Advisory, a boutique advisory firm dedicated to the infrastructure sector. Nathan also worked at seed capital firm Neotech Capital, which invests in new media and telecom start-ups. In this management role, Nathan assessed business plans and developed commercialization strategies for multiple technology start-ups.

Nathan holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands with a dual major in Strategic Management and Innovation Management.

As part of the early team at Spire, Theresa focused on building the initial business case and then took a lead role in business development, fundraising, and corporate partnerships as it transitioned from the Ardusat project into Nanosatisfi and eventually Spire Global. In addition to spearheading Spire's international expansion to Singapore and Glasgow, she signed Spire's first international MOU, first LOI, and first million-dollar contract. After being appointed Executive Vice President and General Manager of Spire Space Services and Earth Intelligence, Theresa is now Chief Operating Officer overseeing Spire's Weather, Aviation, Earth Intelligence, and Space Services business units worldwide.

Prior to Spire, Theresa spent the past decade working in emerging markets. Most recently, Theresa managed the Latin America trade syndications desk for Citibank out of NY, working at the intersection of supply chain management, global trade, and development finance at the height of the financial crisis. She has also worked on multi-million dollar contracting projects in the shipping industry and lived in Bangladesh while working for a USAID private sector development and trade promotion project.

Theresa studied at Cornell University, The London School of Economics, and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).

Kyle Whitehill joined Avanti Communications (Avanti) in April 2018 as the Group Chief Executive Officer.

During his time at Avanti, Kyle has led the company's growth strategy and has expanded Avanti's global footprint. Significant milestones include launching Avanti's new multi-orbit strategy and embedding the company's customer centric approach, which has delivered 270% growth in bandwidth revenues. Kyle has also helped the company secure many influential partnerships within the ever-growing SatCom market in the security, government, maritime and enterprise sectors.

Kyle has extensive experience in the FMCG, mobile, fixed and converged products industries. Prior to joining Avanti, he served as CEO of Liquid Telecom South Africa, where he focused on operational excellence, customer experience and talent investment, which led to significant company growth during his tenure.

For 16 years Kyle held various senior leadership positions at Vodafone Group, including CEO of Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., CEO of Vodafone Ghana, COO of Vodafone India and Chairman of Vodafone India PTY. At Vodafone UK, he has also held positions including Enterprise Business Unit Director, Sales Director and Strategic Relationships Director.

Over Kyle's 35-year career he has worked across the globe and seen first-hand the benefits a connected life can bring. During his time at Vodafone, working and living in countries like India and Ghana, Kyle realised a personal passion to connect the unconnected. His overarching goal is to be a part of something that will change the world for the better and ensure everyone has the power to 'Be More'.

Aarti Holla-Maini has been Secretary-General of the ESOA since 2004. She is a Member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Space, the WEF Global 5G Coalition Network, and the WEF Essential Digital Infrastructure & Services Network.

Under Aarti's leadership, ESOA & its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society - vital to bridging the world's digital divide, achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and realizing the 5G ecosystem.

Since joining the association, Aarti has led the expansion of ESOA from a European association to one that represents the interests of 21 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.

Aarti has 23 years experience in the aerospace industry, starting at Daimler-Benz Aerospace/EADS (now Airbus) in Germany. In 2000, she moved to Brussels, representing Airbus interests in the European satellite navigation program: Galileo.

Aarti holds a Masters of Business Administration from HEC, France & Stern Business School, NYC, USA. She qualified as Solicitor of the Supreme Court in the UK in 1995, holding a 2:1 graded LLB Hons Law with a German Law degree from King's College, University of London & the University of Passau, Germany. Aarti is of British-Indian origin and holds British and Belgian nationalities. She lives in Brussels, has 3 children and speaks 5 languages.

Mr Ruy Pinto was appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at SES in January 2019. He had been the Deputy Technology Officer since 2017 and took on the additional role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) at SES in 2018, responsible for starting a Digital Transformation program at SES.
Mr Pinto joined SES from Inmarsat where he covered various technical and managerial roles between 1990 to 2016, including two years as CTO of the company. His last position at Inmarsat, from December 2013, was Group Chief Operations Officer (COO), responsible for all Inmarsat operational functions.
His external positions portfolio included two years as the Chairman of UKSpace, the UK space industry trade association, and four years as a Director and VP of Space for the Association of Defence, Security and Aerospace Companies (ADS). Mr Pinto has just completed a six-year appointment as Non-Executive Director of the Space Application Catapult, established by the UK government to foster the development of space applications in the UK. Previously, Mr Pinto worked with VSAT data communication networks and data communications software.
Mr. Pinto holds a degree in Electronics Engineering and completed post-graduate studies in Digital Telecommunications Systems, both from the Rio de Janeiro Catholic University (PUC-RJ).
Mr Pinto is a dual British and Brazilian national.

Marc-Henri, graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in 2005 and from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in 2008, began his career at the French Ministry of Finance and then in prime Minister staff. Then, he joined Thales Alenia Space where he was appointed Director of Engineering and Assembly Integration & Test payload for Observation and Sciences before becoming VP Domain Observation and Science France.

Marc-Henri has a strong experience in space activities, in particular in engineering, product policy, customer relationship, commercial offers and project management domains.

lodie Viau joined ESA as Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications from 1 September 2020. For 12 years prior to this, Ms Viau worked for SES. As Vice-President for Technology Program Management, she led new space segment development as well as end-to-end system design and implementation of new integrated services. Previously, she was the SES Program Manager of nine satellites built by Airbus. She gained two MSc: respectively from Télécom Sud Paris and from the International Space University complemented by an MBA from the Open University.

Andrey Kirillovich joined RSCC as Director of Integration Services and Turnkey Projects in September 2012 to take responsibility over turn-key satcom solutions and services on the foreign markets outside Russia. In his new role Andrey is developing a portfolio of satcom services to turn RSCC into global satcom service provider.

Prior to continuing his career in RSCC Andrey was Regional Sales Director in VT iDirect, Inc., where he managed sales and marketing of iDirect VSAT products in Russia and CIS. During almost six years in iDirect he brought this technology vendor to leading positions on VSAT market in the region.

Before iDirect Andrey spent seven years in RSCC at various sales positions where he was responsible for selling satellite bandwidth to international customers in EMEA and Aisa.

Andrey holds Ph. D. degree in Economics from Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics.

Yau Chyong Lim is MEASAT's Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he oversees the management of the company's business and operations.

Yau has more than 25 years in the satellite industry, with wide-ranging experience across multiple sectors including sales & marketing, business development, network, engineering, and commercial operations.

He is currently a Board Member of Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council and Deputy Chair of Malaysia SpaceTech (PIKOM).

He holds an MBA in Finance from Keele University, Staffordshire, UK and a BSc in Microelectronics & Physics from Campbell University, North Carolina, USA.

Roger Tong has been serving as AsiaSat's Chief Executive Officer since 2018. He joined AsiaSat as General Manager, Engineering in 2008, and has held positions of increasing technical responsibilities before being promoted to Chief Technical Officer in 2016. During his tenure, AsiaSat has added five large geostationary satellites to its fleet and has built an extension to the Tai Po Earth Station, significantly expanding the company's capabilities both in space and on the ground.

Roger graduated summa cum laude from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, with a Bachelor's degree in computer engineering and a Master's degree in electrical engineering. He was a gold medalist graduate of an MBA programme at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, and holds a doctorate in business administration from the University of Newcastle in Australia. Roger was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2020.

Roger has been serving as a director of the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) since 2018, representing the interest of the satellite operator community and providing leadership in tackling various challenges faced by the video industry.

Teruo (Terry) Yamashita is Group President of Global Business Group at SKY Perfect JSAT and Chairman & CEO of JSAT International Inc. SKY Perfect JSAT is a leader in the converging fields of broadcasting and communications. It is Asia's largest satellite operator with a fleet of 18 satellites, and Japan's only provider of both multi-channel pay TV broadcasting and satellite communications services. Terry joined JSAT Corporation, which is current SKY Perfect JSAT, in 2001, and he has engaged in domestic and international sales and marketing of satellite communication services that mainly target telecoms and broadcasters for 20 years. In 2012, he was appointed as the first head of the Jakarta office with the responsibility to open the new office to strengthen sales in Indonesia, one of the key markets for SKY Perfect JSAT. In 2020, he became Group President of Global Business Group, the position to supervise the global business of SKY Perfect JSAT, including the management of the overseas offices, and he has been in the position as of today.

Jo is VP Market Development and Strategy at ST Engineering iDirect, where he is responsible for the team heading the company's vertical markets.
He previously held a similar position of VP Market Development at Newtec, where Jo was also responsible on the market development for HTS and constellations.
Prior to his position as VP Market Development, Jo was Product Manager and in this role he was responsible for the product definition and market launch of Newtec Dialog®.
Jo has over 20 years of experience in the satcom industry. He began his career at Newtec in 1996. In 2005, he became systems architect for Newtec's DVB-RCS system and further evolved to product manager and later Product Line Director of the Sat3Play Broadband Platform. Jo holds a Bachelor's degree in electronics from HTISA-Gent, Belgium.

Mr. David Adhiambo's responsibilities as Senior Manager Transport & IP Planning and Design include end-to-end transmission plan and build (Access, aggregation and core), data center and IP networking plan and build, regional connectivity as well as strategic partnership management.

Since joining Safaricom, Mr. David has grown from access transport planning engineer to Principal Engineer before moving into senior management handling both planning and support roles

Mr. David has been instrumental in championing and promoting access to broadband services by use of various technologies in Kenya. The main one was the launch of an aggressive plan to fiberize the sites, buildings, and homes as well as modernizing satellite teleport to support the growing backhaul requirement and regional enterprise opportunities

David has also held a leadership role in Qatar supporting the transformation of Qatar into a smart economy in preparation for 2022 World cup through 5G which included building a smart stadium.

Mr. David is a graduate of Strathmore University -Kenya in Executive Education in addition to holding a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Electrical and communication from Moi University Kenya.

Rakesh Kukreja is the founding member and Managing Director of iSAT Africa Ltd FZC that is part of Wananchi group. ISAT offers, along with standard terrestrial and satellite-based connectivity solutions, innovative solutions based on proven technologies but fine-tuned for Africa for niche markets like rural connectivity, GSM backhaul, maritime, broadcasting and others.

Rakesh has also played a major role in building SimbaNET and Wananchi Telecom brand in Enterprise and wholesale business areas. Under his leadership, Wananchi Business Services has grown more than 5 times and has expanded its geographical footprints from Kenya, to Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and UAE.

Rakesh is a Communication Engineer with 25 years of experience in the ICT industry, mostly in Africa and Middle East, and has led many organizations including new start-ups.

Rakesh is passionate about the use of ICT to bring social change and bridging the digital divide. He strongly believes that society deserves much more from ICT industry and professionals than what is being delivered.

Having joined the satellite industry 1997 with Williams Global Access (later became Loral Cyberstar) Scott has had a varied career over the past 24 years. With having extensive experience in multiple disciplines from Teleport/Network engineering with Kingston (later to become Arqiva) to Solution and commercial design engineering (with both Datasat and Liquid) his experience now sees him as the CEO of Liquid Telecom Satellite Services, a division within the Liquid Telecom Group. Liquid Telecom are the largest independent voice and data supplier across the African continent, and one of the most respected providers of satellite communications within the region. Scott is a passionate advocate of Satellite communications and its place at the heart of the communications future.

Dr. I-Kang Fu received his Ph. D degree from the Department of Communication Engineering of National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan, in 2007. He is currently a Director of Standard Strategy in MediaTek Advanced Communication Technology Division, contributing to Beyond 5G standardization in 3GPP TSG-RAN, driving the new technology initiatives such as cellular/satellite network integration, and exploring pre-6G technology trends. Prior to 5G, he was actively contributing to 4G standardization work in IEEE and 3GPP since 2005.

Semir is ST Engineering iDirect's Head of Cellular Backhaul and Trunking. A seasoned telecommunications executive, Semir is an expert at bridging technology and business specifically in the Mobile and Internet spaces. Previously with Memotec Semir was vice-president of Marketing & Strategy, and Product Marketing director at Comtech. Prior to this tenure, Semir has launched startups and held several international assignments with Oz Communications (acquired by Nokia), Airwide solutions/Schlumberger & Sema Group in the areas of product management, solutions architecture and product development.
Semir holds a M.S in Electronics and Automatics from the University of Sciences of Montpellier, France and a M.S in Business Administration (major is strategy) from the Institut Francais de Gestion, France.

Dr. Lin-Nan Lee, vice president of Advance Development at Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), leads research and technology development in disciplines such as channel coding, modulation, multiple access, signal processing and data compression. He has participated in developing Third Generation (3G) wireless communications standards; DVB-S2 and DVB-S2X satellite broadcast standards; and IEEE802.11.n wireless local area network (WLAN) standards. Dr. Lee contributed fundamental technologies - most notably in the turbo codes for 3G and 4G wireless and in the low-density parity check codes for DVB-S2/S2X and IEEE802.11.n. Currently, he works on the 3GPP standardization process for the Fifth Generation (5G) Wireless Standard.

Prior to joining Hughes, Dr. Lee worked for Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) in various positions in the COMSAT Laboratory, and as Chief Scientist of the COMSAT System Division. Prior to COMSAT, Dr. Lee worked at Linkabit Corporation developing an experimental packet satellite network linking the ARPANET and networks in UK and Norway over an Intelsat satellite.

Dr. Lee holds a Bachelor of Science degree from National Taiwan University and a Master of Science and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. A Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), he authored or co-authored more than 60 U.S. patents and dozens of journal and conference papers. In 2019, Dr. Lee was recognized for "Distinguished Contributions to Satellite Communications" by the Communications Society Satellite and Space Communications Technical Committee (COMSOC SSC-TC) of IEEE.

Georg Mayer is the Chairman of the Core Network and Terminals, Technical Specification Group of 3GPP (TSG CT). His current focus is on the coordination of 5G related work inside and outside 3GPP. He participates in the IETF and works closely with several of the new stakeholders in 5G, such as public safety, railways, autonomous systems and IoT service providers.

He is a published author and has co-authored a book on IMS, amongst other titles.

Georg Mayer holds an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Hagen, Germany and he works for Huawei Technologies.

Joined Gulf Air in May 2018, Mr. Mohammed Jamsheer started his aviation career with the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain as Marketing Director with responsibilities including managing Gulf Air's brand, marketing campaigns, awareness, advertising and promotional activities. The role expanded in 2020 by building the airline's digital operations and development unit within commercial along with the global contact center operations, post-travel support, Falconflyer loyalty program and corporate communications.

Mr. Jamsheer joined Gulf Air with rich knowledge and experience from the telecommunications sector and customer experience solutions. Majoring in Marketing with degrees from Beirut and Boston, Mohammed leads total marketing strategy planning and activation for the national carrier which includes major events and sponsorship such as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and was featured on the list of Forbes Storytellers: 50 Impactful Marketing & Communication Professionals in The Middle East 2020 and in Think With Google's Gulf Air Smart Bidding case study.

JOHN PADGETT
Chief Experience & Innovation Officer for Carnival Corporation
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John Padgett joined Carnival Corporation in 2014 as the chief experience & innovation officer spanning the company's nine global cruise line brands with a holistic focus on creating exceptional guest experiences. Leading a multi-disciplinary and cross-functional experience and innovation team, Padgett is responsible for guest experience innovation, development, creation and operations integration across creative, digital, technical and operational functions.

In his role, Padgett is creating game-changing guest experiences that are differentiated based on personal interactions, empowered by invisible technology and shared with the world via original media and gaming content.

Carnival took the CES2017 keynote stage to announce the OceanMedallionTM and the world's first experience Internet of Things (xIoT) as the hinge-pins to MedallionClassTM - a next-level guest experience based on personalization and frictionless service delivery. The Medallion and elements of the Ocean Guest Experience Platform already have been on the receiving end of multiple innovation awards including the CES 2019 Innovations Award, New York Design Award, Red Dot Award, Edison Award, ICX Assn Elevate Award, IDTechEX Award, Stevies Award, Skift Design Award-Best Cruise Experience and selected as the 2019 IoT Wearables Innovation of the Year by IoT Breakthrough.

Onboard MedallionClass ships from Princess Cruises, guests enjoy an effortless vacation with enhanced levels of personalization and guest service on board. The Medallion elevates the guest experience by enabling touchless embarkation and disembarkation, frictionless MedallionPay commerce both on and off the ship, and keyless stateroom entry, as well as additional contactless capabilities accessible using smart phones and tablets, including food, drinks and service delivery on demand; way-finding; family and friends locator; first-run movies and live TV on the go; an interactive events and activities planner; and interactive fun.

When the COVID pandemic hit the cruise industry particularly hard, five Princess Cruise ships were MedallionClass. Padgett not only used the pause to accelerate the conversion of the entire Princess fleet of 15 ships into MedallionClass vessels, but also to modify the Medallion to deliver the OceanOrbit contact tracing solution to other brands within the Carnival Corporation.

For Padgett, elevating the guest experience has also meant delivering MedallionNetTM - the best wifi at sea - which is helping to put an end to the cruise industry's dark age of slow connectivity.
 
On the media front, Padgett has marshalled an ambitious content production initiative that includes six Ocean Originals series that have been distributed on ABC, NBC, A&E, Univision and Telemundo; as well as Carnival's own digital streaming channel called "OceanView," available on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV and ChromeCast - in addition to an app available on the Apple app store and Google Play, and across more than 80 of its ships.

Prior to Carnival Corporation, Padgett enjoyed an 18-year career with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where he and his team led the company's shift to guest experiences grounded in personalization, customization, simplicity and connectivity as the vice president of game changer experience development. He spearheaded the invention, development and implementation of guest engagement innovations that include the MagicBand, FastPass+, Disney's Magical Express, Be Our Guest restaurant, Main Entrance access portals and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique retail locations.

In his first decade at Disney, Padgett held a diverse number of business and financial planning executive roles within travel industry sales, consumer marketing, travel operations, facilities, utilities, engineering, transportation and manufacturing.

Padgett holds 35 patents and multiple innovation awards for wearable devices, experience itinerary scheduling and optimization, digital experience interaction platforms and operational processes.

He earned a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in management science and a bachelor's degree in finance from Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business.

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Nancy recently joined Global Eagle team as SVP of Aviation Connectivity and will have responsibility for the commercial and account teams. Nancy has a wealth of experience in the aviation and connectivity space, including having led network-related strategy, sales, product management and account management across a variety of verticals including business and commercial aviation as well as satellite communications and air to ground networks. Previously, Nancy served as Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for B2B sales and accounts, product management, and marketing for SmartSky Networks. Prior to that role, she was responsible for the launch and operations/accounts of several commercial airline IFC products while at LiveTV and Thales in a variety of roles in Programs, Accounts, Business Development and Engineering. With over 30 years of aerospace technology and IFC experience, Nancy holds a Masters and Bachelors in Engineering and has led commercial aviation activities in both the US and in Europe.

Born June 17th 1960 BE, EEE United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 1992

Linden has over 30 years of experience in spectrum management and regulatory affairs.

He is currently the owner of Linden Petzer Consulting; an independent consultancy specializing in spectrum management and regulatory affairs.

Linden is an advisor to ESOA, and is involved in advocacy support for ESOA positions on satellite issues for the 2023 International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference.

In 2020 he was the lead expert on satellite communications in a team developing a Masterplan for Aerospace and Defence in South Africa.

In 2019 worked as an advisor to the Global Satellite Coalition and ESOA in preparing positions on satellite issues for the 2019 International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference.

From September 2008 to March 2019 he was the Chief Director: Radio and Satellite Communication at the Department of Telecommunications & Postal Services where he was responsible for national policy that ensures the effective deployment of radio and satellite-based technologies in South Africa.

In 2018 Linden was appointed as Chair of the SADC Committee of Satellite Experts to develop a SADC Shared Satellite Framework. The Committee was responsible for developing a governance framework, cost sharing models, principles in terms of how a SADC Satellite network would be shared and the related engagement framework.

In 2010, Linden was appointed as a Councillor in the South African Council for Space Affairs (SACSA), which is responsible for the implementation of national space policy and the regulation of space affairs in South Africa, as well as ensuring that these activities are carried out in compliance with the provisions of international treaties to which South Africa is a Party. He continues to hold this position. He is a member of the SACSA Scientific & Technical Committee, and also the Policy & Legal Committee.

He has been a member of the South African delegation to all ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences since 1995, and was the South African National rapporteur for Satellite Issues for the 2015 ITU World Radiocommunication Conference. In 2012, he was the Chairperson of the SADC WRC-12 Preparatory Working Group and also Chairperson of the South African WRC-12 National Preparatory Working Group.

Linden has actively participated in the ITU Radiocommunication Sector Study Groups, particularly Study Group 4.

He has been a member of the South African delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) meeting and the Scientific & Technical Sub-committee as well as the Legal Sub-committee, and was involved in the development of International Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities.

Joseph Abakunda is currently the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of the Rwanda Space Agency. A skilled Space systems engineer, he brings a wealth of experience of 10+ years in strategy, policy & small-satellite development and has coordinated the drafting of Rwanda's national space policy & strategy.

He was also a member of the COVID-19 national task force as a technology project manager utilizing space technology in the mapping & mitigation of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda in support of national contact tracing efforts.

Before his current role as CSO, he was the National Coordinator for the Rwanda Space Program as well as Project Manager for RWASAT-1 - Rwanda's first satellite.

He previously led efforts on behalf of the Government of Rwanda to become the 62nd member of the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

In addition to being a licensed Pilot, he holds a MSc in Space Systems & Business Engineering

Dr. Abimbola Alale is the current MD/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Nigeria.
She is a Ph.D. degree holder of Security & Strategic Studies from Nasarawa State University, Keffi- Nigeria. She also holds a Master's degree in Space Studies (MSc) and an MBA degree from the International Space University, Strasbourg-France.
Other Certificates were obtained at the Massachuttes Institute of Technology, USA and the Management School, London.
Dr. Abimbola is a Fellow of African Scientific Institute (FASI), Certified Forensic Investigation Professional (CFIP), Member International Academy of Forensics (MIAF), Fellow of Chartered Public Diplomacy and Management (FCPDM).
She is a current Council Member 2021 of the World Economic Forum:- Global Future Council on Space.
She has pursued an active career in the Space Sector for over 20years.

A veteran of collaborative product and startup innovation within Space, MediaTech, and AgTech, Dr Tim Parsons leads the Australian NewSpace network Delta-V, while consulting widely to research organisations, tech-focused SMEs, startup accelerators and incubators nationally. A member of the SIAA's advisory committee, Tim's formal board experience extends from his role as a non-executive director of not-for-profit MediaTech incubator The Studio Pty Ltd, as well as Australian representative director of Vimond Media Solutions APAC Pty Ltd. He is also a director of both his own consultancy Super Lumina Pty Ltd and the Delta-V Newspace Alliance Pty Ltd. Tim is also a member of the establishment committee of the SmartSatCRC, as well as chair of the establishment committee of the SmartSatCRC's Australian Space Industry Startup Cluster Company. Tim holds a PhD in Rarefied Hypersonic Flow Simulation from Imperial College, London, and is married with two children.

Mike Carey is a co-founder and the Chief Strategy Officer of ATLAS Space Operations. Before ATLAS, he served in the US Air Force for thirty-two years, attaining the rank of Major General. In the years since, Carey has refined his skills and expanded his knowledge. He now leads by first tuning in to the ever-changing satellite communications needs of society and ATLAS' clients. In doing so, the work that he is responsible for is centered around the development of infrastructure and technology that will bring people and space closer together. Carey has distilled his mission and streamlined ATLAS' efforts to provide innovative and proven solutions for satellite operators. Carey holds a BA in History from the University of Central Florida, an MPA from the University of Oklahoma, and an MA in National Security & Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He's proud to have returned to his home state of Michigan, this time creating jobs and driving innovation.

Jeremy Hallett is CEO & Managing Director at Clearbox Systems, one of Australian's longest standing and most successful Defence and Space businesses. In Space, Clearbox Systems has a particular emphasis on Satellite Communications and Space Domain Awareness. Clearbox's solutions have been deployed extensively in Australia and Internationally and are renowned for their technology, dependability of delivery and responsiveness to emerging requirements.

In addition, Jeremy is a Non-Executive Director of Australia's peak Space industry body the Space Industry Association of Australia as well as being an angel investor including being an Investor and Mentor in the Moonshot Space Accelerator.

Jeremy is passionate about Australia's Space Industry and believes in the ability of Australia's Space Industry to provide world-leading technology and services. He is an enthusiastic advocate for Australia's Space Industry and has deep technical, commercial and operational knowledge in key sectors where Australian Space Industry has a competitive advantage.

Nick leads the Satellite Sales and Marketing teams at Optus - Australasia's No.1 satellite owner and operator, and No.2 Telco - with 5 satellites in operation today, and the forthcoming Optus 11 - an Airbus OneSat announced in July 2020 to be launched in 2023. Prior to this, Nick spent 7 years at Speedcast where he was Asia Pacific VP of Sales managing three disparate teams from Pakistan, to China, to Tahiti! Nick drove the business case for Optus 11, which as a software defined very high throughput satellite, will be one of the most advanced Ku-Band GEO satellites in the world at launch.
He has an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management and is trained as a Telecommunications Engineer, starting his career at Optus in the Satellite Operations Centre. Nick has worked in Operations, Engineering, Marketing and Sales and now focuses on managing successful teams. His most recent successes have been renewing contracts with Australia and New Zealand's largest Pay TV operators - Foxtel and SkyNZ - both until 2031, as well as significant works with the Australian Department of Defence - extending the life of type of the Optus C1 Defence satellite until 2027.
Nick is a thought leader and underpins a lot of the strategic direction of the business.

Richard (Ric) A. VanderMeulen is Vice President, Space & Satellite Broadband at Viasat the world's largest operator of Satellite Communication Capacity. In this position since 2009, VanderMeulen is engaged in Viasat's efforts serving government and commercial markets with broadband, fixed and mobile Satellite Communication Services, Satcom Ground Segment solutions, and Satcom Customer Premise Equipment solutions.

Bringing both engineering and business expertise during his more than 30 years in the Satellite Communications industry, Mr. VanderMeulen has held senior general manager and program manager positions at Viasat, The Boeing Company, and Rockwell Collins. Before the formation of Government Systems Division, VanderMeulen was Vice President General Manager Government Satcom. He was responsible for all Viasat's government Satcom programs.

He joined Viasat in 2001. Previously, he served as Director, Business Development for Boeing's Space and Communication Group new ventures. Mr. VanderMeulen began his business career with Rockwell Collins as a design engineer and eventually as a business leader responsible for design completion and transitioned to production of multiple Satcom Systems including Milstar, SMART-T, SCAMP, and others.

Ric was born in Detroit, Michigan. He attended the University of Virginia and graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.

Aude is a space and aeronautics engineer (graduating from ENSICA, Toulouse) starting her career at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands. Aude has 25 years' experience delivering large and complex programs introducing new technology in the telecommunication, space and media industries.

David Hartshorn has more than 35 years of experience in the satellite communications industry. He most recently served as CEO of Geeks Without Frontiers, a non-profit technology-neutral organization that applies financially sustainable innovation to solve connectivity challenges worldwide. Mr. Hartshorn leads the organization as it catalyzes public and private sector initiatives to bridge the "Digital Divide" and reach the UN "Sustainable Goals".

Whitney Lohmeyer, Chief Technologist of the FCC's Space Bureau, is passionate about enabling affordable Internet so that individuals can empower themselves, and that communities can connect schools and healthcare centers. She is on leave from her role as faculty at Olin College and as a Research Affiliate at MIT. At Olin, she directs the Olin Satellite + Spectrum Technology & Policy (OSSTP) Group, managing undergraduates who collaboratively contribute to the field of satellite communications, and she also works closely with industry to advise on end-to-end system design, and spectrum strategy. Whitney was the first engineer hired at OneWeb, where she worked with Qualcomm on the communications architecture, and contributed to policy reform at the FCC and ITU. Since that time, she has advised more than thirty companies on technical, financial, and regulatory matters and has testified before Congress on space and spectrum related issues. Prior to joining the OneWeb team, she worked at Google, and spent time at Inmarsat and NASA. She is currently on the board of FASESA, a non-profit bringing space exploration to classrooms throughout Africa. Whitney received her Ph.D. and M.S. in AeroAstro from MIT in 2015 and 2013, respectively. She earned her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from NC State University in 2011, as the only female in her class of approximately ninety students, and now serves on the board of North Carolina State University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department.

Dr. Michael Potter, is a co-Founder of Geeks Without Frontier and a Board Director at the International Institute of Space Commerce. He serves as a Distinguished Lecturer & Faculty Member of the International Space University. His articles on high technology business and policy have been widely published. Potter received his MS degree from the London School of Economics and was a member of the inaugural class of the International Space University held at MIT.

Dr. Hannah Kerner is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland. Her research involves developing new machine learning methods for analyzing remote sensing data for agricultural monitoring, food security, and other applications in Earth and planetary science. Dr. Kerner is the Machine Learning Lead and US Co-Lead for NASA Harvest, NASA's agriculture and food security initiative run out of the University of Maryland.

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Clint Crosier is Director of the AWS Aerospace and Satellite business, established to help accelerate innovation in the global aerospace and satellite industry. He leads a global team that is dedicated to working alongside commercial and government space customers to provide tailored, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions to help them solve their toughest challenges. The team continues AWS's long history of supporting customers in the space industry by helping commercial and government customers build satellites, conduct space and launch operations, and reimagine space exploration.

Prior to joining AWS, Crosier served 33 years in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. His career includes a broad range of experience in space operations, including a one-year deployment to the Middle East as the U.S. Central Command Director of Space Forces. He served in staff assignments in the U.S. Senate, Secretary of the Air Force's Action Group, U.S. Air Force Office of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Air Force Space Command and US Strategic Command. During his career, he operated global positioning service (GPS), satellite communication, and missile warning satellite constellations; launched Atlas and Titan rockets putting national security payloads in orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and NASA; and led Requirements and Strategy Development for the entire US Air Force. Prior to retiring from military service as a Major General, he was the lead planner and architect of the U.S. Space Force, leading the stand up the first new military service in 72 years.

Crosier earned his degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. In 2020 he was inducted into the ISU Aerospace Engineering Hall of Fame. He has also earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi (Summa Cum Laude), and a Master's of Science in National Security Studies from the U.S. Naval War College with Highest Distinction. His military service awards include the Bronze Star for exemplary service in a combat zone, Air Force Space Command's Sijan Leadership Award, two Defense Superior Service Awards, three Legions of Merit, and the NRO Director's Gold Medal. His military academic awards include Distinguished Graduate and Top Graduate accolades at Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and the Naval War College.

Dr. Sara Spangelo worked on small satellites and autonomous aircraft at the University of Michigan and was a lead systems engineer at both NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and Google X. Her expertise is in modeling and optimizing satellite constellations to maximize impact and business opportunities. Sara holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and in 2017 was a Top 32 Canadian astronaut candidate.

Robert Bell serves as the Executive Director of both the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) and World Teleport Association (WTA), where he is responsible for the programs, finances and operations of the organizations. Mr. Bell has led business development missions to cities in Asia and the US; authored articles in Asia-Pacific Broadcasting, Satellite News, Satellite Executive Briefing, The Municipal Journal of Telecommunications Policy, Telecommunica¬tions and Asian Communications; and appeared in segments of ABC World News and The Discovery Channel. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at industry conferences including SATELLITE and NAB. He also authors WTA's research reports including Satellite Operator Benchmarks, Best Practices in Teleport Valuation, and Teleports in a Gigabit World.

David Meltzer has 30 years of experience in the satellite and humanitarian industries. Mr. Meltzer currently leads the Global VSAT Forum which is the largest global trade association for the commercial satellite industry. As GVF's Secretary General, he leads advocacy efforts on behalf of the industry with national and international regulators while providing members with benefits in areas such as online and classroom training, organizing industry conferences, and leading industry working groups on topics that include international regulatory matters, sustainable space operations, and disaster relief. Prior to leading GVF as its Secretary General, Mr. Meltzer worked for sixteen years at the world's largest communications satellite operator -- Intelsat -- and served as Intelsat's General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs. Following Intelsat, Mr. Meltzer served for thirteen years at the American Red Cross leading its international disaster relief and development activities and served as the American Red Cross' General Counsel for over five years. Mr. Meltzer has extensive experience working with senior members of government and has made numerous appearances before media, the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, ITU, and other national and international organizations.

Marco Brancati holds a degree in Electronic Engineering with a focus on Telecommunications and Radars from the University of Naples Federico II. He began his career at Selenia Industrie, where he dealt with System Analysis activities for the Electronic Defence Division prior to moving to the Telespazio Group in 1990.

His past experience includes: subsystem project manager for the Italsat F1 and SAX satellite missions, Program Manager for the Operations Engineering and O&M activities relevant to Iridium and Astrolink programs, Key Account Manager for European Commission and Eumetsat, and Head of Telespazio Studies Unit, within the Studies and Innovative Projects Business Unit. He was also responsible for Telespazio Institutional Programs (Sicral 1B and Athena-FIDUS among the others), and he served as the Head of Marketing & Commercial Planning.

In September 2008 Marco was appointed Vice President of Telespazio Network & Connectivity Business Line, responsible for the development of all TLC and TV programs and products in the company. In February 2011 he was appointed Senior Vice President of Network & Connectivity Business Unit at the Group level. In the same year he completed his Executive Leadership Program at London Imperial College.

On October 2016 Marco was appointed Chief Technology & Innovation Officer for Telespazio Group, in charge of Innovation and Technology Governance. In June 2021, such role was enriched with the responsibility for Information Technology and Sustainability. In addition to what above, from June 2023 he is also in charge of Research Funding and Digital Engineering for the whole Telespazio Group, as SVP of Research, Digital and Innovation Unit.

From 2022 he is Vice President of Space Exploration Commission within "Ordine degli Ingegneri" organization in Roma.

Josh is the Chief Revenue Officer, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Revenue Operations. In his role, he leads strategy for Relativity's business development, government affairs, and customer program management.

An experienced aerospace business leader, Josh has a proven track record of shaping long-term strategies that deliver revenue growth while also shaping how customers purchase existing services and novel capabilities. Under Josh's leadership, Relativity has secured launch service agreements totaling $1.8 billion from commercial and government entities. Prior to joining Relativity, Josh spent nine years at SpaceX, where he was the Senior Director of Government Business Development. He successfully secured more than $3 billion in contracts - including SpaceX's first U.S. Air Force EELV launch services contract, an Other Transaction Authority agreement to develop a new boost stage engine, and the first operational Falcon Heavy mission. Josh previously worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and as an aerospace engineer at Boeing.

He holds a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University and the University of Washington, respectively, in addition to an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Joe Landon is Vice President of Advanced Programs Development for Lockheed Martin's Commercial Civil Space line of business. He is responsible for Lockheed Martin's Space Exploration strategy, and he leads an organization accountable for new business growth, strategy and R&D for human spaceflight, robotic deep space exploration, commercial communications, weather and Earth science markets. Previously, Joe served as CFO of Planetary Resources and co-founded Space Angels.

Joe is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Space, an Associate Fellow of AIAA and a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He holds a BS in Engineering Physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, an MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Al Tadros is the Vice President of Space Infrastructure and Civil Space at Maxar. For more than 29 years, Tadros has worked with both commercial enterprises and government agencies to develop space systems for communications, satellite servicing, remote sensing, and exploration.
At Maxar he has held increasingly responsible engineering and business development positions, and has most recently led significant innovation in next-generation spacecraft design and space infrastructure; integrating robotics and on-orbit satellite manufacturing, servicing, and assembly capabilities. He also works to draw attention to the value of commercial satellite technologies, hosted payloads and system solutions for government missions. Over the course of his career at SSL he has participated in 13 missions and launch campaigns, many of which deployed cutting-edge communications and remote sensing systems.
Tadros holds patents in the field of attitude control systems, and was responsible for early telerobotics research for the International Space Station. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Andrew Penn is a Principal in Oliver Wyman's A&D and Private Capital Practice areas where he works with senior leaders to drive value creation through winning strategies and operational effectiveness.
A trusted advisor in the space sector, his work spans the space value-chain from launch and spacecraft manufacturing, to satellite operations, managed services, and data analytics. Over the course of his career he has led nearly 200 engagements ranging from market growth/entry strategies and adjacent market studies to joint venture standups, organizational restructurings, and numerous M&A transactions--including the two largest space take-privates of the decade: Inmarsat and Maxar Technologies.
Andrew is a frequently sought-after contributor in leading space and SATCOM industry press for his market commentary and analysis, having contributed perspectives and Op-editorials in Via Satellite, SpaceNews, TechCrunch, and Avionics Today, amongst others. He also served as editor for Avascent's "Apogee" space publication, where he authored numerous white papers on topics ranging from space SPAC valuations and in-flight connectivity business models, to government space acquisition strategies and National Security Space spending.
Prior to joining Oliver Wyman, Andrew was a Senior Director at Avascent, where he led the firm's space M&A work.
Andrew holds a BA from Northwestern University in economics and mathematics and completed the certificate program in financial economics from the Kellogg School of Management.

2014 - until present: Co head of European Telecom and Satellite Equity Research - Barclays
2003- 2014: Director - Senior Equity Analyst - European Telecom and Satellites Equity Research - Exane BNP Paribas
2000-2003: Equity Analyst - European Telecoms - Bank of America; DLJ
1998-2000: Fund Manager - Latin America - Merrill Lynch Asset Management

Brian Weeden is the Director of Program Planning for Secure World Foundation, and Executive Director of CONFERS. In his role with SWF, Dr. Weeden directs strategic planning for future-year projects to meet the Foundation's goals and objectives, and conducts research on space debris, global space situational awareness, space traffic management, protection of space assets, and space governance. Dr. Weeden also organizes national and international workshops to increase awareness of and facilitate dialogue on space security, stability, and sustainability topics. He is a member and former Chair of the World Economic Forum's Council on the Future of Space Technologies, and is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Prior to joining SWF, Dr. Weeden served nine years on active duty as an officer in the United States Air Force working in space and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) operations. Dr. Weeden holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University, a Master's Degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration from George Washington University in the field of Science and Technology Policy.

Carolyn Belle engages in space industry growth and diversification, with expertise in the market dynamics of on-orbit servicing, emerging satellite applications, and the creation of diversified space architectures. Carolyn currently works with commercial and government satellite operators to pursue new approaches to on-orbit operations in her role at Astroscale U.S, where the company's vision is the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations. She leads partnership development, market analysis, and strategy formulation while cultivating new business opportunities. She previously led KSAT's standardized ground network development in the U.S. and, as a consultant and industry analyst, advised companies throughout the value chain on key opportunities and strategic direction. She started her career in astrobiology research before focusing her passion for space on building the business environment and underlying infrastructure necessary to facilitate a dynamic in-space economy.

Peter Kant is CEO of Accion Systems. Peter Kant brings two decades of experience at the nexus of business, government, technology and policy including leadership positions in state and federal government, large companies, start-ups, and non-profits. He also currently serves on multiple corporate boards and advisory boards of venture funds.

Peter was previously CEO of Synapse Technology, which developed computer vision artificial intelligence technologies for the security industry. He took Synapse from pre-revenue to $6M in ARR resulting in a successful exit acquisition in just over 12 months.

Peter previously served as Vice President, Federal Partnerships at SRI International. SRI is a large non-profit research and development institute headquartered in Silicon Valley and provides R&D in multiple science and technology disciplines including artificial intelligence, bioscience, computer science, education policy, robotics and space. In his role he led SRI's overall strategy and relationships in support of all fits $400M+ federal government programs and activities. While at SRI, Peter led SRI's Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy as Executive Director. The Washington, D.C.-based Center focuses on the impacts of science and technology on public policy and strategy.

Prior to joining SRI in 2014, Peter served as Executive Vice President at OSI Systems, Inc, a publicly-traded security and medical technology firm. Over his 10-year career at OSI, he held multiple positions (primarily at Rapiscan Systems) including, leading the International Division, leading the US Division and he also held senior roles in global government affairs and business development. During his tenure Rapiscan grew annual revenues from ~$200M to over $900M

Peter started his career in government service working in political positions at the state and federal levels. He worked for Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II; served as Policy Director for the Texas House of Representatives; and served as an appointee in President Clinton's administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and on Vice President Gore's Domestic Policy staff.

Peter earned his undergraduate degree in politics and economics from Brandeis University and his Masters of Public Policy at Duke University.

Walt Anderson has over 25 years of experience in creating fast growing successful organizations. A serial entrepreneur, he has generated US$2.1 billion in shareholder value for his investors through the sequence of high-growth, telecom companies that he has founded and managed.

Notably, he founded Esprit Telecom plc, the first pan-European telecommunications operator. Esprit operated in eight EU countries and conducted its IPO in 1997 (NASDAQ-ESPRY). In 1999, Esprit was acquired for around €1 billion by Global TeleSystems, Inc. Mr. Anderson co-founded Telco Communication Group, Inc., Washington DC are based long distance carrier, in 1993. Telco's IPO was in 1997 (TCGX-NASDAQ).

Walt Anderson co-founded the International Space University based in Strasbourg, France in 1988. The University is dedicated to the discovery, research and development of outer space exploration for peaceful purposes, through international and multidisciplinary education and research programs.

Ethan Lin is a serial entrepreneur who founded three companies since 2007. He is the VP and Co-founder of TMYTEK. A start-up company focuses on 5G mmWave solutions. He leads the software technology and marketing teams and helped the company successfully raising pre-A and A funds. Before TMYTEK, Ethan founded Scarlet Tech, a successful IoT company run until today. He ever worked for the smartphone maker HTC and cooperated with Microsoft and Qualcomm closely in the fields of software and wireless communication. In the first job, he built the world's largest infrared telescope (WIRCam) for CFHT in Hawaii. Ethan holds a Master's degree in Electronics Engineering on the topic of Quantum Dots IR detectors from National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan.

Anirudh Sharma is the co-founder and CEO at Digantara, building India's first active space situational awareness solution based in space. Digantara is developing a patent-backed comprehensive SSA solution suite for modelling centimetre-sized Resident Space Objects (RSO) and space weather in Low Earth Orbit.

Back in 2016, I started a research project about the spherical motor with my partner Sam. We were studying this topic in a laboratory in EE, National Cheng-Kung University. In the meanwhile, there comes an opportunity that our lab is helping the National Space Organization in Taiwan to build a single-axis reaction wheel.

By participating in that reaction wheel development work, we found a pain point for satellites, "attitude control system take a significant portion of the weight and volume from a satellite." Therefore, we started to aim our spherical motor for satellite applications and tried to resolve the obstacles for satellite minimization.

After years of research, we finally worked out a feasible solution and spin-out from NCKU as a startup company in 2019. We hope that our spherical motor solution can help people save more costs and extract more value from a space mission. Ultimately, make people invest more resources into it. That's the dream and driving force for me and Tensor Tech to go forward.

Mr. Alhassani is the Chief Strategy Officer at ARABSAT. In this capacity he is responsible for formulating and overseeing the implementation of the company long and short-term strategies and business development activities. He is also entrusted with leading partnerships, organic and inorganic growth prospects for ARABSAT.

Mr. Alhassani started with ARABSAT in 1997 and has spent the majority of his time on the engineering and operational side of the business as satellite engineer, director of satellite engineering and control as well satellite and launcher program management. He also led the space insurance program for well over 16 years and continues to advice internally on the topic. He was also a senior representative at GSOA for 8+ years and worked closely with CEOs, other senior reps and the organization's leadership on advocacy and space sustainability work.

Alhassani received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas.

Mr. Johnsen is Chief Financial Officer of SpaceX, overseeing the long-term financial development of the company, interfacing with the financial community and managing the company's internal financial operations. Bret brings more than 20 years of financial leadership experience to SpaceX, mostly in highprofile, publicly traded companies. He has served in this role since joining SpaceX in 2011.

Previously, Bret spent nearly a decade at Broadcom Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, where he helped transform the company into a leading Fortune 500 technology company. Starting out as Controller for a number of business groups within Broadcom, he quickly rose through the ranks. He ultimately was named Vice President, Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer, overseeing an 80-member accounting organization in nine countries.

Naia Butler-Craig is an Aerospace Engineering PhD Student and GEM Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a member of GT's High-Power Electric Propulsion Lab. She obtained her B.S in Aerospace Engineering with a special concentration in Astronautics and a minor in Computational Mathematics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She is also a NASA Pathways intern in the Science and Space Technology Systems branch at Glenn Research Center.
During her undergraduate career, she had the opportunity to gain invaluable research experience as a McNair scholar, undergraduate research assistant, NASA student, and GEM Fellow with Los Alamos National Laboratories. Her experience thus far has been in spacecraft test and development, sub-kilowatt electric propulsion, spacecraft attitude simulation, kinetic simulations, and astrophysics.
She is involved in a variety of professional, philanthropic and developmental extra-curricular activities on and off campus. She has served in multiple capacities, including on the regional board, in the National Society of Black Engineers. She founded both the dance club (Embry-Riddle Dancing Eagles) and the ERAU chapter of the Society of Women in Space Exploration (SWISE) at Embry-Riddle. And finally, she volunteered in Dreams Soar Inc. working as their STEM Programs Lead, and community outreach analyst. She has been a speaker at various STEM outreach events as well as technical speaker at academic conferences.
Her ultimate goal is to become a mission specialist astronaut and participate and contribute to deep space exploration.

Natalya Bailey is the CEO and a co-founder of Accion Systems. Natalya earned her doctorate in space propulsion from MIT where she helped invent the first working prototype that made use of an ion propulsion technology for small satellites, which then became Accion Systems. Prior to MIT, she invented a new chemical rocket technology that she turned into a space startup. At Accion, she has developed an electric rocket system that can work at a smaller scale than the alternatives, and is cheaper and easier to manufacture.

Natalya was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2015. During graduate school, Natalya was a National Science Foundation Fellow and a NASA Ambassador to the US at the International Aeronautical Congress. As an undergraduate at San Diego State, she graduated first in her class and helped found the Aerospace Engineering Honor Society. She's the President of the Boston Tau Beta Pi honor society alumni chapter, bringing together current engineering students with young professionals.

Marcus is an aerospace engineer with a specialisation in spacecraft electric propulsion systems. A dual-national with both British and Slovak citizenship, he completed Master's degree in Spacecraft Engineering from the University of Southampton in July 2018. His masters project concerned the development, manufacture and testing of a neutraliser for a Microwave ECR Gridded Ion Thruster, the first successful testing of such a neutraliser outside of Japan. This project received the highest grade of any Masters project in the engineering faculty at Southampton and was shortlisted for the university's design excellence award.
Marcus moved to Germany in 2018 to work on spacecraft propulsion systems at Ariane Group at the Orbital Propulsion Centre in Lampoldshausen. In 2019, Marcus joined the SUPREME project, contributing to the preparation of a Horizon 2020 proposal to develop an Applied-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster incorporating superconductors. Following the proposal submission, Marcus co-founded the new start-up Neutron Star Systems, aiming to commercialise superconductor technology for space applications, where he acts as the CTO.

Andy Hoskins has worked for 30 years at Aerojet Rocketdyne working on In-space Power and Propulsion Technologies. He has a masters in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton, focused on Electric Propulsion for spacecraft. In his career at AR, he has held a range of positions including engineering, program management, and business development in addition to his current position in Washington Operations.

Dr. Ryan McDevitt is the Co-Founder and CEO of Benchmark Space Systems, an innovative in-space mobility partner with government and commercial mission heritage across a portfolio of various propulsion technologies and products. Since its inception in 2017, Ryan has grown the operation to 90+ employees with offices in Vermont, California, and the United Kingdom.
Ryan received his undergraduate degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as well as a master's degree and a doctorate from the University of Vermont. At UVM, he conducted graduate studies within the Small Satellite group, where he worked on a NASA-funded program to develop micropropulsion technologies that later became the basis for Benchmark's first products. He is also a Professor of Engineering at the University.

Brad brings over 22 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. Now, Brad oversees the Freedom™ Software Platform responsible for 6,000 automated satellite passes per month. Additionally, Brad is Principal Investigator on various government research programs involving scheduling, machine learning, and agnostic ground systems.

Dedi David Haziza - CEO and Founder
Entrepreneur with deep technological background ranging from Microwave circuitry and Antennas through various communication systems both for terrestrial networks and space. Led the technology innovation center for Google Air, developing space, air and ground platforms for Global connectivity. Over 20 years' experience spanning from Israeli defense and space industry through commercial Industry in the US [Companies like CalAmp, DirecTV, Google, WaveBender and few others], Function as the System Architect of Wafer Technological innovation.
Holds a BSc. In Electrical Engineering Suma Cum Laude from the Technion Haifa and MSc. In Physical Electronics From Tel-Aviv University as well as an MBA, holds over 30 patents.

Mr. Peterson is a Business Development Manager for the Swedish Space Corporation. SSC has the most advanced commercial ground station network in the world supporting requirements for NASA, ESA, ISRO, and privately funded missions for more than two decades. Mr. Peterson heads up customer support for lunar missions globally and the full range of mission profiles for customers in the Americas region. Prior to SSC, Mr. Peterson served as a Ground Operations Engineer for the European Space Agency where he led a global team-of-teams during the launch and early orbit phase of ten ESA and partner agency spacecraft. He started his career supporting the U.S. military, first as an enlisted satellite communications technician, and then as a contractor with assignments in Japan and Germany. He is also sometimes called Professor Peterson by students of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he has been a member of the adjunct faculty for more than ten years.

Dr. Ravishankar is a Senior Vice President at Hughes and leads end-to-end system design activities of GSO and NGSO satellite systems. He received his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana after graduating from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. Prior to joining Hughes, he was with Comsat Laboratories, Clarksburg, Maryland.
He has served as Editor of IEEE Transactions on Communications journal, Guest Editor of IEEE Networks Magazine on Integration of Satellite and 5G Networks and session chair at IEEE conferences. He is also a visiting faculty member at University of Maryland, College Park and has served as member of Ph.D. committee at George Washington University, USA.

As a next-gen leader within the satellite community, Jon is experienced in catalyzing Satellite Operator services roadmaps, and commercially optimizing global VSAT solutions at a terminal, satellite, and ground systems perspective.

As Eutelsat's Vice President of Products and Platforms, Connectivity, Jon is responsible for B2B service offerings across the Enterprise, Mobility, and Government verticals. This is reflected in the recently announced Eutelsat Advance Network, that embraces a multi-vertical, multi-platform product ecosystem, spanning Eutelsat's traditional and next-gen Ku and Ka assets, under a single umbrella.

Prior to Eutelsat, Jon came from Intelsat, ThinKom Solutions, Raytheon, and Sandia National Laboratory.

Sean Yarborough is a Vice President of Product Management at ST Engineering iDirect. In this role, Yarborough oversees the strategies for iDirect's platform portfolio which includes managing the entire lifecycle from conception to end of life.
Prior to joining ST Engineering iDirect, Sean was a Vice President of Service Assurance, with Spirent Communications, where he managed a portfolio of mature and new service assurance solutions for voice, video, and data services in the telecommunications and enterprise markets. These solutions ranged from traditional hardware appliances to SaaS based solutions. At Spirent, Sean advised leading service providers around the world on best practices for activating, monitoring, and troubleshooting business, wireless, and residential services.
With over 25 years of experience in the IT, mobile, telecom, and satellite markets, Sean offers a unique blend of knowledge and cross-functional experience to educate the global community on the importance of satellite technology and its continued alignment with telco initiatives.
He has a BS in Electrical Engineering (University of Virginia) and an MBA (University of Maryland - College Park).

Michael Sheetz joined CNBC in 2015, covering breaking news, transportation, and markets.

Having covered the space industry part-time since 2017, Michael began full-time coverage of space in early 2020 and contributes across CNBC's global content offerings, from its digital reporting to business day television programming and more.

He is an alumnus of the 2016 Dow Jones News Fund, and a Founder's Scholar from The King's College with a bachelor of the arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, double-minoring in Journalism and Theology.

Dr. Michaelyn Thomas is the head of affordability & project manager for spaceport development at Virgin Orbit in Long Beach, California, USA. Virgin Orbit is on a mission to democratize and open space for everyone by providing affordable, dedicated, and responsive launch services for
small satellite customers. As a part of the Virgin Orbit leadership team, it is Michaelyn's job to reduce the recurring costs of launch vehicle services in efforts to offer affordable launch solutions to new small satellite customers. As a project manager, she also leads the charge on developing spaceports around the globe in order to bring horizontal launch capabilities to other countries. Michaelyn also serves as the executive sponsor for Virgin Orbit's Teammates for Women Empowerment (TWE) business resource group. Her passion for space exploration, space systems innovation, and STEM education runs deep.

Michaelyn first started her aerospace career in 2007 at The Boeing Company located in El Segundo, California, USA, as a contracts administrator on autonomous space programs. In 2009, she transitioned to become a material cost manager for commercial satellite programs. In 2010, Michaelyn became the lead cost estimating and pricing specialist while serving as a cost volume leader and cost/price analyst on government and commercial satellite programs. In 2015, she was afforded the opportunity to serve as the chief of staff to the vice president of government and commercial satellite programs. Michaelyn started her current position at Virgin Orbit in 2017 as the head of affordability and project manager for spaceport development around the globe.

Scholastically, Michaelyn belongs to two academic honor societies--Tau Beta Pi (the Engineering Honor Society) and Dobro Slovo (the National Russian Honor Society). She holds a doctorate degree in organizational leadership from University of La Verne; a master of science degree (MS) in space systems engineering from The Johns Hopkins University; a master of business administration (MBA) degree from University of Redlands; and a bachelor of arts (BA) degree in political science, public law with a minor degree in Russian language from California State University, Long Beach. She has three publications, including her doctoral dissertation, which is entitled, "Exploring the advancement of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) executive management positions in the aerospace industry: Strategies identified by women that enable success." Her most recent publications are entitled, "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work on rockets" and "Empowering women to take on STEM leadership positions within the aerospace industry," and they both appeared in the April 2021 issue of STEM Magazine and the November 2018 issue of STEM for Women Magazine, respectively.

Michaelyn is the founder of spacedoutdoc.com, and there she shares thoughts, experiences, and research through storytelling in efforts to build community with a shared vision of women empowerment in the aerospace industry. She is also very passionate about community service, and she is on a mission to inspire as many girls, women, and all underrepresented groups to pursue STEM education and STEM careers. She accomplishes this through community STEM activities and sponsorship, as well as serving as an executive mentor for the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship program which provides Black college students with professional internships.

Joseph Ibeh is the lead analyst covering the Aeronautical Satcom market vertical and Satcom Finance research at NSR. He began Consulting for NSR in 2020, utilizing his expertise in satellite communications, newspace industry landscape, and national space programs in emerging regions. Mr Ibeh has over three years of experience in market research and consulting, focusing on the space industry.

Before joining NSR, Mr Ibeh was a Senior Analyst at Space in Africa, where he covered all segments of the African commercial space industry and national space programs. He co-authored the African Space Industry Annual Reports and the NewSpace Africa Industry Reports and provided business advisory to global space companies looking to enter the African market.

Mr Ibeh holds a bachelor's degree in History and International Studies from Imo State University, Nigeria. He is a candidate for a masters' degree in International Business at the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics, University of Delaware.

Ms. Johnson is a member of the Executive Board of the ICC, International Chamber of Commerce and is Vice President of Institut EuropIA, the Euro-pean Institute of Artificial Intelligence.

Serial Entrepreneur and Investor. Founder/Co-Founder of SES ASTRA and SES Global, the world's pre-eminent satellite company, Loral-Teleport Eu-rope, Europe Online, VATM, Succès Europe, OWNSAT, GTWN, and GBRW;

Candace Johnson is a global infrastructure, network and innovation entre-preneur and investor. She is Founder/Co-Founder of SES (Société Eu-ropéenne des Satellites), Loral-Teleport Europe, Europe Online, Oceania Women's Network Satellite (OWNSAT), a founding investor in the Kacific Satellite System. Ms. Johnson is also Founding President of the VATM, the Association of Private Telecom Operators in Germany and Founding Presi-dent of the Global Telecom Women's Network (GTWN). In 2012 she and a group of engaged women created the Global Board Ready Women initia-tive, (GBRW). She is President Emeritus of EBAN after having completed a four year presidency of EBAN, (European Business Angels Network), during which she was honoured to help found ABAN (African Business Angels Network) and Rising Tide Europe, amongst other initiatives.

She has been decorated by the Luxembourg Government with the Com-mander of the Order of Merit and the Officer of the Oak Leaf Crown as well as being decorated by the German Government with the Officer of the Fed-eral Order of Merit. Ms. Johnson has received numerous Lifetime Achievement Awards from such prestigious organisations as the World Communication Awards, Women in Aerospace and The International Alli-ance of Women.

Ms. Johnson has an honorary doctorate from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Masters with honours from the Sorbonne and Stanford and an undergraduate degree from Vassar College.

Dr. Teresa Segura is the Senior Manager for Emerging Capabilities in the Boeing Applied Innovation organization, focused on leading strategy for new technology startup investments, partnerships, and innovation solutions for the enterprise. Prior to joining Boeing, she served as Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at Accion Systems and led corporate strategy, sales, and partnerships. Previously, she was Director of Marketing and Sales for Space Systems/Loral (now Maxar Technologies) responsible for sales strategies for customers in Asia and the Americas. Before joining SSL, she was a business development campaign manager for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and led engineering design and capture for spacecraft missions targeted for the solar system. Early in her career, Dr. Segura held various space science positions within NASA and Academia, publishing several papers on the climatology of Mars. Dr. Segura earned her bachelor's degree in astrophysics from Columbia University, and her Master's and Doctorate in astrophysical, planetary, and atmospheric sciences from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Dr. Vigeant-Langlois is a Partner at AE Industrial with a primary focus on new business development and portfolio management across AE Industrial's funds in private equity, venture capital, and aircraft leasing, where she serves on the Investment Committee of AE Ventures, and on AEI's Origination Guidance and Sustainability Committees. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of AEI portfolio companies: Alpine Air, Applied Composites, Columbia Helicopters, Edge Autonomy and G.S. Precision, and on the Boards of Directors of AE Ventures portfolio companies: Eos Aircraft, FLYR, Gamma Alloys, Near Earth Autonomy and Revolution Space. In addition, she also serves as a Senior Commercialization Advisor with DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defense focused on breakthrough technologies for national and economic security.

Prior to joining AE Industrial, Dr. Vigeant-Langlois worked for GE Aerospace as Chief Executive Officer of the GE Passport joint venture with Safran and IHI, and as program management executive responsible for the Passport, CF34-3 and CF34-8C engines on Bombardier and Mitsubishi's aircraft. Previously at GE, Dr. Vigeant-Langlois played a key role on the founding team that launched and grew GE Additive as a leading force in industrial 3D printing, and led the strategy and global field marketing teams supporting the sale of GE Aviation's engines, systems and services across commercial, business and military aviation.

Before GE, Dr. Vigeant-Langlois led commercial, product and engineering teams in aerospace and high-tech industries. At Sikorsky Aircraft (Lockheed Martin), she launched new engineering innovation, ran defense offset programs and led the Operations Analysis and contract R&D teams. At aircraft lessor CIT (Avolon), she gained increasing responsibilities in acquiring $9B of aircraft and engines. At The Weather Company, she led the democratization of cockpit weather information and the launch of SiriusXM Aviation Weather. She also previously transported air freight flying Learjets across North America.

She received SM and PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University, is a graduate of the International Space University space studies program, UTC's Darden executive program, several GE Crotonville programs, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and completed the CFA Level 1. She is a certified FAA commercial pilot with Learjet privileges and a flight instructor in gliders. She also serves as Board Advisor to health tech company Triangulate Labs, and is a member of The Wings Club and PEWIN.

Dawn Harms is the Chief Executive Officer at Momentus and member of their board of directors. A proven leader in the global satellite and launch services industry, Ms. Harms formerly served as Momentus' Chief Revenue Officer. She was previously the Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at Boeing Satellite Systems International and has held executive positions at International Launch Services (ILS) and Space Systems Loral (now MAXAR). She received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has long served on their engineering advisory board. She is chairwoman emeritus of the Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) and currently serves on ManSat's board of directors.

As Senior Vice President, Lars is responsible for Rocket Lab's global business and government affairs. With more than 30 years of experience in national security and aerospace, Lars brings a deep knowledge of the global space industry and U.S. Government space requirements.

Before joining Rocket Lab, Lars was an executive at SpaceX, from 2014 to 2018. At SpaceX, Lars facilitated certification of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles and he led the capture of more than $2 billion of national security space business.

Prior to joining industry, Lars completed a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, as a U-2 reconnaissance pilot, a test pilot, and in senior leadership roles at The Pentagon.

Lars holds advanced engineering degrees from the United States Air Force Academy, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, and U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Lars also earned national security degrees from MIT, Air University, and National Defense University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA.

With more than 35 years of industry experience, Mr. Novotney and Ensign-Bickford have been at the forefront of separation technologies used on launch vehicle, human space, and satellite/spacecraft platforms. Ensign-Bickford has been the primary domestic supplier of stage, fairing, and payload separation systems for more than 60 years.

Jay Skylus is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Engineer of the Aether Transport System of Aevum. Jay establishes the corporate direction and is responsible for leading all facets of the company including product development. He has a proven track record in aerospace leadership that includes the design and hot fire of seven different rocket engines, development of six launch vehicles, and the growth of four space startups prior to Aevum.

Jay's aerospace career includes leadership launch positions in legacy companies, government agencies, and the commercial space sector - an advantageous, comprehensive background most space startup founders do not have. At the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), he helped develop an autonomous interplanetary shockwave detection technology that could improve NOAA's early space weather forecast capabilities for satellites in near-Earth orbits. Following CSPAR, he helped develop and test nuclear fuel elements for the next generation of nuclear thermal rockets (NTR) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). It was during his time at NASA MSFC that NASA engineers and directors mentored Jay to help him achieve his dream of democratizing space access.

Following his nuclear work, Jay led a small team in the design, build, and demonstration of an in-orbit servicing spacecraft platform capable of autonomous rendezvous and docking in NASA's Flight Robotics Laboratory. His work in space weather and nuclear rockets was published at the International Astronautical Congress in Naples, Italy, where he was one of the youngest speakers at the time. Following NASA, Jay worked to design and hot fire the rocket engines at Moon Express, which went on to win a milestone prize of $1.25 million from the Google Lunar XPrize. Jay's other notable positions include Propulsion Systems Integration and Analysis at Boeing, Chief Engineer of Conspire Technology (predecessor of Aevum), and other commercial small launch programs.

John Galer is the Assistant Vice President for National Security Space at the Aerospace Industries Association, providing policy leadership and representing industry consensus on national security space matters.

John is a former active duty Air Force space operations officer experienced in leading dynamic teams in space operations, strategy, communications, and policy. During his career, he has served as a satellite operator and integrator and a trusted advisor and strategic communicator for chief executives in the Department of Defense, intelligence community, and U.S. Congress. In his last assignment, he was a Legislative Liaison for U.S. Strategic Command.

Galer holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from Florida State University.

Brian joined ALL.SPACE in its early days in 2017 and currently leads the Product Team ensuring successful productization of ALL.SPACE's ground-breaking technology. His expertise in the design and development of mmWave communication, radar, and electronic warfare systems, cultivated during his years at Northrop Grumman, has helped ALL.SPACE push the envelope in solving their customers' most challenging requirements.
Most recently, at L3Harris Specialty Applications Division, Brian led the hardware design team in successful delivery of a wide variety of unique, rapid turnaround specialty products for government customers.
Brian received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University and his M.S. in RF Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Pls see my Bio from Sat2019

Ram Rao is currently the Director of Advanced Engineering Technologies for the Global Enterprise Solutions business unit of Leonardo DRS. The Advanced Engineering Technologies group supports the Leonardo DRS mission in delivering global, mission-critical information and communication technology solutions. In his role, he is responsible for setting both short-term and long-term technology goals and plays a vital role in developing the technology direction and vision for the company.
Ram has over 30 years of expertise in satellite communications. Prior to joining DRS, he worked at leading companies like TetraTech, WorldSpace, and Hughes. Ram has a Masters degree in Electronics and Communication from Bangalore University, an MBA in International Business from Georgetown University and has earned Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP, and PMI-RMP certifications.

Office of the Secretary of Defense, OUSD(R&E), JCTD Directorate
Oversight Executive, and Director of FNC3 Mission Prototyping

Doug Schroeder became an Oversight Executive within the JCTD office in February 2019 after serving USD(A&S) as Deputy Director, C4ISR Division and Branch Chief for National Intelligence Systems since July 2016.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Schroeder was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Navy upon graduation from Purdue University in 1982.
He later earned Master of Science degrees at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and also the National Defense University / Industrial College of the Armed Forces (NDU/ICAF).
During his 26 years as a naval officer, Mr. Schroeder was designated as a Naval Flight Officer, Engineering Duty Officer, Joint Specialty Officer, and Acquisition Workforce Professional in Program Management, Systems Engineering Test and Evaluation, and Information Technology.
He served multiple tours on Navy Staff and Air Staff, and one tour on Army Staff.
Duty assignments included the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Strategic Systems Programs Office, National Reconnaissance Office, SPAWAR Space Field Activity (plank-owner), Transformational Communications Office (as Director in command), and the National Security Space Office. He concluded his naval career a Navy Captain as the senior space-qualified Engineering Duty Officer in the Navy, and as the Space Systems Engineering community mentor.
Following his transition from the U.S. Navy in 2008, Mr. Schroeder worked in private industry and as an independent consultant for eight years as a space systems engineer, an acquisition professional, a program manager, and as a senior executive in business development for material solutions providers such as Intelsat General and Raytheon in spaceborne solutions and capabilities. He returned to the Pentagon in 2016 to advise Navy Staff on the tactical exploitation of national capabilities, and later the Office of the Secretary of Defense in defense and intelligence work specializing in space acquisition, program management, systems engineering, and satellite communications enterprise architectures.

Dr. Juan Deaton is currently a Senior Research Scientist, Digitization & Virtualization Technologies at ATG and a former research scientist at Envistacom. In his previous employment with Comtech EF Data, he was engaged in a variety of different types of research like anti-jam waveforms, satellite channel models, and developing LDPC codes for Versa FEC 2. Before working at Comtech EF Data, he worked for the Idaho National Lab, where he researched spectrum optimization, spectrum modeling, and emergency communications. Before the INL, Juan worked for Motorola's CDMA network division where he was the recipient of the 2005 CDMA quality award for developing hands-on training for CDMA cellular equipment deployments. His patented and published work includes spectrum sharing in cellular networks, wireless airborne emergency communications, and mobile advertising. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees were earned from Virginia Tech and BSEE from the University of Idaho.

Mike Dean is the Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Division Chief for C3 Infrastructure Directorate of the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications (C3), Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chief Information Officer. As DoD SATCOM Chief, he provides technical expertise, oversight and broad guidance on policy, programmatic and technical issues relating to DoD SATCOM to integrate and synchronize
defense-wide communications programs and achieve the DoD's Digital Modernization Strategy initiatives. He also advises on efforts to achieve and maintain information dominance through DoD SATCOM for the Department of Defense. He manages efforts defining DoD policies and strategies for design, architecture, interoperability standards, capability development and sustainment of DoD SATCOM and serves as the DoD CIO's focal point for international partnership activities in SATCOM to include the NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation (NSS6G) activities.
Mike's DoD SATCOM division also maintains synchronization architecture roadmaps and employs various governance forums to synchronize end to end SATCOM activities, including the SATCOM Synchronization and Integration Workshop and the SATCOM Systems Engineering Group.
Before joining federal government service, Mike served as a career Army Signal Corps and Cyberspace officer for more than 27 years (including multiple command positions and multiple combat deployments within the 82d Airborne Division as well as serving as the Space Branch Chief in the Joint Staff J6). Following his military career, Mike served as a defense contractor for in multiple roles supporting the DoD CIO in satellite communications and information enterprise management. Mike's most notable role in DoD SATCOM is the development of the Enterprise SATCOM Management and Control Reference Architecture published in 2019 by the DoD to describe the building code for DoD enterprise SATCOM modernization.
Mike Dean holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Systems Management from Western International University and a Master of Arts in History from Western Illinois University.

Dr. Mahmud Harun is currently employed as a Senior Ground Systems Engineer at SES. He is leading the effort to virtualize SES gateways. Prior to joining SES, he worked as a Principal RF Design Engineer at ST Engineering iDirect, where he was involved in the development of multiple user terminals and hub equipment. Dr. Harun received his PhD, M.S. and BSEE degrees from Virginia Tech

Ben is a Principal Program Manager on the Azure Spectrum Technologies team at Microsoft. Prior to Microsoft, he ran the R&D team at Ettus Research, part of National Instruments and creator of the USRP, was the Director of Engineering at DeepSig Inc., a venture-funded startup applying AI to the RF physical layer, and led the GNU Radio project and was President of its Foundation. Ben earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer engineering from Virginia Tech, focusing on architectures for heterogeneous computing in software radio systems.

Doctor Vigil holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida where he specialized in modem waveforms and communications signal processing. Doctor Vigil's career has loosely focused on migrating major communication systems from analog formats to digital formats. He was the first to publicly demonstrate In-Band On-Channel FM Digital Audio Broadcasting, the precursor to HD Radio, and he holds four patents in this area. He holds another four patents in Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) digital broadcast television (DTV). Dr. Vigil is now a Senior Scientist with Systems Technologies, Inc (Systek) supporting the U.S. Army Product Manager, Wideband Enterprise SATCOM Systems (PdM WESS), where he serves as the lead Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance Subject Matter Expert (SETA SME) on SATCOM Modems, on Digital Signal Processing in general and on Digital IF in particular. In this capacity, Dr. Vigil quickly recognized DOD SATCOM's growth challenges, quantified its geometric growth rates, and began, as early as 2007, to champion and advocate for the migration of the DOD SATCOM Earth segment architecture from L-Band to Digital IF. Dr. Vigil is an IEEE Senior Member, holds the 2001 IEEE Region 3 Outstanding Engineer Award in recognition of contributions to Digital Audio Broadcasting and is a member of the MILCOM Technical Program Committee.

Emily Calandrelli is a producer and the host of Xploration Outer Space, a nationally syndicated educational TV show where Emily shows viewers the most exciting projects in the space industry today. Emily has a technical background with Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering degrees from West Virginia University and Masters degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as Technology and Policy from MIT. She's won a number of national awards for her leadership in science including the Goldwater Scholarship and the Truman Scholarship. She's been profiled in Cosmopolitan and the Boston Globe and is passionate about exciting students about science and space exploration.

o Dave joined Astroscale U.S. in March 2020 and is responsible for Astroscale's global brand, messaging, content, and audience experience.

Dave came to Astroscale from The Aerospace Corporation, where he served as a Senior Communications Strategist, leading communications for space policy, and civil and commercial space systems.

Prior to joining Aerospace, Dave was a Communications Manager at The MITRE Corporation. There he helped create the company's commercial space strategy, supported the CEO's communications and media engagement, and helped manage the company's rebranding strategy.

Before MITRE, Dave was a Communications Manager at the U.S. Geological Survey where he led executive and employee engagement, congressional affairs, web and social media, and other functions.

Dave is a Co-Chair of the CONFERS Communications Working Group, a Senior Fellow at the Partnership for Public Service, and a former two-time Co-Chair of the Federal Communicators Network. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in advertising from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Arts in journalism from the University of Missouri. He is happily married, has boy-girl twins, and enjoys great stories, basketball, swimming, and, for some strange reason, yard work.

Simonetta Di Pippo is Director of UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), a position which sees her lead the Office's strategic, policy and programmatic activities and advising the UN Secretary-General on space affairs. Prior to joining UNOOSA, she served as Director of Human Spaceflight at the European Space Agency, and previously also as Director of the Observation of the Universe at the Italian National Space Agency, ASI. She is an Academician of IAA and a member of WEF Global Future Council on Space Technologies since 2016 and its co-chair since 2020. She co-founded Women in Aerospace Europe in 2009 and in 2017 became a UN International Gender Champion.



She holds a Master's Degree in Astrophysics and Space Physics from University "La Sapienza", and Honoris Causa Degree in Environmental Studies, and an Honoris Causa Degree of Doctor in International Affairs. Ms. Di Pippo was knighted by the President of the Italian Republic in 2006 and, in 2008, the International Astronomical Union assigned the name "dipippo" to asteroid 21887 in recognition of her efforts in space exploration. She was also featured in a publication HERstory: A Celebration of Leading Women in the United Nations, a tribute to women's participation in the development of the UN. Among other awards, she was awarded the Hubert Curien Award in 2018 as the first woman laureate.

Brad Grady serves as a Business Development Manager at Hughes, where he enhances airlines' in-flight connectivity experiences through the comprehensive Hughes In-Flight Connectivity Solutions. Leveraging over a decade of market analysis and insights, Brad collaborates with other industry-leading experts at Hughes to deliver transformative IFC experiences.

With more than 15 years in the satellite connectivity industry, Brad's career is marked by prominent leadership positions. Prior to joining Hughes, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at Northern Sky Research (NSR) until its acquisition by Analysys Mason in 2022, where he continued as a Research Director. At NSR, an Analysys Mason company, Brad led the mobility and government/military research sectors, providing valuable insights to end-users, satellite operators, service providers, and the financial community.

Throughout his consultancy career, Brad has authored numerous reports on topics ranging from the global space economy's market opportunities to the impacts of emerging LEO technologies on the mobility sector. He is a recognized speaker at industry conferences, has been interviewed by leading space sector publications, and has contributed to numerous custom consulting engagements.

Brad earned a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland.

Suzanne E. McBride, has served as Iridium's Chief Operations Officer since February 2019. Ms. McBride served as Chief Operating Officer of OneWeb, Ltd., a company that is building a new satellite constellation, from October 2018 to January 2019 and as its Senior Vice President from June 2016 to October 2018. Previously, she was employed by Iridium Satellite LLC, our primary operating subsidiary, in a series of positions with increasing responsibility from 2007 until June 2016, most recently serving as its Vice President, Program Management Office and Launch Services, a role in which she oversaw the launch program for the Iridium NEXT constellation. Ms. McBride has more than 25 years of experience in the satellite industry, including building and launching the original Iridium satellite constellation while at Motorola's Satellite Communications Group as a senior engineer in the 1990's. Ms. McBride received her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee in the Executive Aerospace and Defense program, and her dual undergraduate degrees are from Columbia University in Industrial Engineering and Claremont McKenna College in Management Engineering. Ms. McBride also holds a master's degree in Program Management from George Washington University and is Project Management Institute certified.

Shey Sabripour is the founder and CEO of CesiumAstro Inc. Shey has nearly three decades of leadership success in design, development and execution of LEO and GEO telecommunication satellites, launch vehicles, and other interplanetary space vehicles, including 36 geostationary and interplanetary satellites for commercial, DOD, and civil space.

During his 24 years of continuous career with Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Shey served as a design engineer, technology innovator, program manager and ultimately, the Director of Spacecraft Design responsible for an organization of 370 engineers, scientists, and business professionals in missions ranging from $100M to $1B.

From 2001 through 2005 Shey served as the Director of Agile Payload Program, where he led a multidisciplinary team for design, development, qualification and successful flight of the first Lockheed Martin Commercial Active Phased Array Payload. His last program at Lockheed Martin was in the design, development, qualification and production of the United States Navy's first MUOS communication satellite. Shey was recognized 14 times by Lockheed Martin Corporation as a visionary innovator and program leader. He was named person of the year in 2005 at Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems.

From September of 2014 to December of 2016, Shey served as the CTO for Firefly Space Systems, a startup rocket company in Austin, Texas. In that role, Shey was responsible for technical and program management of the Alpha Rocket. He was instrumental in growing the small team of 11 engineers to more than 160 in 2016. His team successfully bid and won the NASA VCLS mission and two DARPA contracts at Firefly.

Shey earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from North Dakota State University. He has pursued continuing education in both electrical engineering and executive business management at institutions such as New Jersey Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Santa Clara University, University of Maryland, and Lockheed Martin Center for Leadership Excellence. In 2000, Shey co-authored the Spacecraft Power Technologies textbook and is currently completing the Fundamentals of Communications Satellites textbook for World Scientific Press. Shey holds three issued and two pending US Patents. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Dr. Frank Turner is the Technical Director for the Space Development
Agency. He has extensive public and private sector experience in the
management and direction of advanced technology research,
development, test and evaluation of current and emerging military
systems. Dr. Turner began his career as an officer in the United States
Air Force, served as a Government Program Manager and certified
acquisition professional, a senior leader in industry for both large and
small companies, and as a senior analyst for both the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
His expertise spans space systems, directed energy, nuclear weapons
effects, systems engineering, architectures, and operational evaluation and employment. He has successfully led some of the nation's most difficult and challenging RDT&E programs, creating technical advantage for America's warfighters. Dr. Turner has academic degrees in physics, biology, business and engineering and has completed military education with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

Morten Hagland Hansen is responsible for managing iNet's extensive 4G LTE / 5G NR terrestrial wireless network that enables companies to achieve the full range of benefits from a digital transformation of their field operations. Most recently, Hansen was vice president, Commercial Maritime & Energy Sales at SES S.A. (SESG:EN Paris). Before SES, he was senior vice president - Business Services and chief technology officer at RigNet, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNET). Hansen holds an MBA in Energy from the BI Norwegian Business School.

With more than 30 years of telecommunication engineering and software development experience, Jeff is both CEO of Kythera Space Solution and CTO of RKF Engineering, Kythera's sister company. He is the visionary and technical genius behind the business.
Jeff holds dozens of patents in satellite payload design, satellite resource management software, and telecommunication architectures and is highly regarded as a subject matter expert in satellite performance, antenna design, payload design, and dynamic satellite control systems.
Jeff has also led groundbreaking software development efforts, including "CAGE," which won the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center GSFC Software of The Year Award, and "3d Choreographer," which won Windows Magazine's Win 100 Award.
Jeff holds a BSEE from North Carolina State University, an MSEE from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in EE from the University of Maryland.

Founder and CEO of Cognitive Space, a forward leaning space software company, leveraging machine learning to automate and optimize the use of space for satellite operators and end-users of space data. Background in computer science and software development at NASA and Firefly, with a specialty in modeling and simulation, optimization, critical flight software and ground systems software.

Debra Facktor is the Head of U.S. Space Systems for Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. She leads the Airbus U.S. Space line of business, consisting of National Security Space and Space Exploration. Debra is also a member of the Airbus OneWeb Satellites board.

Prior to joining Airbus U.S., Debra was Vice President and General Manager of Strategic Operations for Ball Aerospace, leading the company's Washington D.C. operations, strategic development, and marketing and communications.

Her extensive business experience includes serving as President and Owner of AirLaunch LLC, and as Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning for Kistler Aerospace Corporation.

Debra is actively engaged as an advisor and mentor in the aerospace community and is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Astronautical Society (AAS). Additionally, she sits on the Advisory Committee for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) and is 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.

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 holds BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering and an MBA focused on the Management of Technology & Innovation.

Luc Riesbeck is a Space Policy Research Analyst based at Astroscale U.S.' Washington, D.C. office, where he collaborates across the space community to mature cross-disciplinary solutions to orbital sustainability challenges. He holds an M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy concentrating in Space Policy from the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, and a B.A. in Social Science from New York University Shanghai. Luc's graduate research focused on policy solution sets for active orbital debris removal, on-orbit satellite servicing, and other emerging applications of advanced robotics for rendezvous, proximity, and docking operations in space. At Astroscale U.S., he is part of a team making active debris removal and on-orbit satellite servicing a reality for government and industry customers. His work equips operators across the space enterprise with strategic, political, and operational tools to execute a sustainable stewardship of the orbital environment and accelerate creativity in aerospace technologies and practices. Luc is an alumnus of the Brooke Owens Fellowship's 2018 class, advising the NYC-based venture capital fund Space Capital on policy and regulatory considerations for their areas of investment. He now serves as a peer mentor for the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, a BOF sister program providing extraordinary Black undergraduate students with their first internship experiences in the aerospace industry. Luc fosters a targeted professional interest in building a global space policy environment that incorporates principles of universal design, sustainable development, and ethics in science and technology.

Artiom is President and Space Advocate at Noosphere Ventures, a prominent U.S. investment firm founded by Dr. Max Polyakov, focused on financing, and cultivating promising space technology companies. Noosphere's space portfolio includes orbital launch provider Firefly Aerospace, in-space electric propulsion firm SETS, synthetic aperture radar satellites venture EOSSAR and remote sensing data analytics platform EOS among others.

Artiom is a licensed attorney (NY) with a graduate degree in Space Law and a life-long passion for commercial exploration and use of outer space.

Jennifer A. Manner is the Senior Advisor for Space and Satellite Policy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In this role, she advices senior officials at NTIA, the Department of Commerce and other government agencies on space and satellite policy issues with a focus on spectrum. In addition, Ms. Manner serves on U.S. delegations to international meetings including in the role of spokesperson and intergovernmental committees.
Ms. Manner has significant experience in the domestic and international space, satellite, new technologies and spectrum policy arena. Prior to joining NTIA, Ms. Manner served as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at EchoStar Corp., a global satellite operator where she was responsible for all policy and spectrum-related issues for the company. Prior to EchoStar, Ms. Manenr served at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the Deputy Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology and the Deputy Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
Ms. Manner has also held senior positions at Skyterra, Inc. (now Ligado) and MCI/Worldcom (now Verizon), as well as Senior Counsel to FCC Commissioner Abernathy and as an associate at Akin, Gump, Strauss and Feld.
Ms. Manner has served in leadership roles at a number of trade association and federal advisory committees, including as President of the Satellite Industry Association, Chair of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, Vice Chair of the FCC World Radiocommunications Advisory Committee and Chair of the US ITU Association, among others. Jennifer also holds leadership positions in international bodies such as the ITU, including as an editor of the Satellite Communications Technology Handbook and chairing subworking groups in preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conference.
Ms. Manner has served as a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and at American University George Washington School of Law and guest teaches at the Silicon Flatirons Program at the University of Colorado Boulder and Carnegie Mellon University Executive Technology Program.
Ms. Manner is also an author and award-winning filmmaker. Ms. Manner has published numerous articles and books including Global Telecommunications Market Access (2003), Spectrum Wars (2005), Spectrum Wars: The Rise of 5G and Beyond (Artech House 2022) and Spectrum Wars: A New Hope for Connectivity (publication expected 2025). Ms. Manner's films include Zebrafish: Practically People (www.zebrafishfilm.org) and When Wire Was King: The Transformation of Telecommunications (www.whenwirewasking.com).

Charles Lee Mudd Jr. is the founder and principal of Mudd Law. He has positioned his firm and practice at the forefront of space law and the expanding commercial space industry. Charles regularly speaks and writes on space law and policy internationally. On these topics, he also has participated in United Nations conferences, testified in Washington, D.C., and lectured at universities in the United States and Russia. Currently, he teaches Space Law at Quinnipiac University School of Law. Charles is a founding member of the Internet Law Leadership Summit. He serves as a board member of NewSpace Chicago as well as General Counsel for the DarkSky International. Charles also maintains memberships in the International Institute of Space Law, European Centre for Space Law, ITechLaw, American Astronomical Society, AAAI, AIAA, and the IEEE. Additionally, Mudd Law maintains a membership in the International Astronautical Federation. Beyond space law, Charles developed an international reputation for experience in cybersecurity and Internet law. Since 2021, Charles also began pursuing a Master's Degree in Applied Data Science at the University of Chicago.

Alexis Sáinz is special counsel in the Washington, DC office of Milbank LLP and a member of the firm's Transportation & Space Group. Ms. Sáinz's experience includes representing financial institutions, project sponsors, private equity firms, hedge funds, satellite operators, communications companies, export credit and multilateral development agencies and other project participants in a wide range of structured financings and investment transactions, involving public offerings, high yield debt, investment grade bonds, project financings, mergers & acquisitions, financial restructuring and reorganizations and in negotiating project contracts. Ms. Sáinz co-chairs the American Bar Association's Committee on Space Law. She co-authored the chapter on Commercial Satellite Programs in the 2017 Routledge Handbook of Space Law and is a regular speaker at industry conferences discussing satellite finance, commercial satellite matters and space law. Ms. Sáinz holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, a master's degree in Computer Science from American University, and a juris doctor from the George Washington University Law School.

Bill O'Hara is the General Manager of Intelsat's Media Business, and is responsible for leading global sales, marketing and product management.
Additional responsibilities include product strategy and P&L responsibilities across the $800M+ global media vertical.

Previously at Intelsat, Bill lead Intelsat's North American Media Sales team, executing industry leading satellite and terrestrial based solutions with the largest cable/broadcast networks in the world and international resellers.
Bill was also responsible for the development and sales of advanced media distribution technologies, focusing on bringing broadcast grade reliability to OTT services.

Prior to joining Intelsat, Bill was the co-founder and CEO of KlowdTV (acquired 2016), where he was the principle distribution architect of a linear OTT streaming service, including: satellite content acquisition, IP based contribution, linear video transcoding, DRM, and CDN integration. He was also responsible for negotiating license agreements for 60+ cable networks and broadcasters, including advanced rights and advertising rights.

As the foundational architects of satellite technology, Intelsat operates the largest, most advanced satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructure in the world. We apply our unparalleled expertise and global scale to reliably and seamlessly connect people, devices and networks in even the most challenging and remote locations. Transformation happens when businesses, governments and communities build a ubiquitously connected future through Intelsat's next-generation global network and simplified managed services. At Intelsat, we turn possibilities into reality. Imagine here, with us, at Intelsat.com.

Ramesh Ramaswamy is vice president of International Sales and Marketing in the International Division at Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes). In this capacity he is responsible for the strategic development of products and services to be offered by Hughes in the international market.

Mr. Ramaswamy began his career at Hughes in 1986 as a software engineer and was one of the original designers of the VSAT (very small aperture terminal) satellite product line. Prior to his current position, Mr. Ramaswamy was assistant vice president and general manager of the Asia/Pacific Region, responsible for business development and profit and loss for the region. Previously, he was responsible for business development in the Middle East/Africa region and before that, was responsible for program management including installation of and technical support to VSAT systems around the world.

Mr. Ramaswamy holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, USA and a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Madras in India.

Amit Somani - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ABS

Amit Somani has over 25 years of experience as an operational and strategic leader in the information and communications technology (ICT) space, with extensive experience as a senior executive in the satellite communications sector.

Prior to joining ABS, Amit spent 13 years at Yahsat as Chief Strategy Officer after his earlier career as a consultant at Booz and Company, and other international consulting firms, advising ICT clients across the globe. He has spent significant portions of his career in North and South America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Amit holds a Master's degree in Electronic Engineering with French from the University of Nottingham and an Executive MBA from London Business School. He is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Lisa Dreher is President for the Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA) - (msua.org). MSUA is a not-for-profit organization that has served the interests of the millions of satellite mobile solutions users and providers for over 30 years. We are dedicated to promoting the mobile satellite industry and development of the mobile satellite market worldwide.

Lisa Dreher also serves as Managing Director of GuideForce (guideforce.com), a company working with new space and established satellite and space industry companies to grow by engaging, captivating, and moving customers to act. She brings over 25 years of business development, product management, and marketing leadership experience in the new space, satellite and information technology and communications (ICT) industries.

She has a unique perspective that is at the intersection of the enterprise IT, communications, and satellite industries. Her work has helped new space and technology startups and established enterprises grow faster and define clear paths to profitable revenue. She partners with CEOs and executives to navigate the startup through enterprise evolution and the development of partner ecosystems to scale their businesses faster.

In his role as Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Adnan Al Muhairi is committed to designing and developing technological solutions with his team to better serve Yahsat and Thuraya customers. This responsibility includes addressing parts of the world that do not have access to communications and enabling robust, secure, government communication systems in an innovative, cost-effective and reliable manner.

Adnan has had a distinguished career in the space industry. He was part of the development program in South Korea as a research and development engineer on the UAE's first successful remote sensing spacecraft, Dubaisat-1 and Dubaisat-2. He has also worked on the UAE's first communication spacecraft, Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2, and he was the Program Director of the Al Yah 3 space communications system - a highly advanced space network that expanded Yahsat's services into Brazil.

Adnan obtained a BSc. in Avionics/Engineering Management from the Higher College of Technology. He then completed an intensive course in satellite systems engineering in South Korea, before completing masterclass training in frequency coordination at RPC telecommunications. This was followed by ground station operations and maintenance training at VIASAT in USA, before he earned an MBA from the Global Executive Program at the McDonough School of Business from Georgetown University in Washington DC.

David has over 15 years of business, product, and technology development experience in the communications and automotive industries. He has been with Kymeta since 2014 and was instrumental in the productization of both the Kymeta u7 and u8 product platforms and the Kymeta service business. David leads Kymeta's connected car initiatives, working with partners to solve tomorrow's communication challenges.

Before Kymeta, David's entrepreneurial business activities included transforming ATSC and digital broadcasting, TV whitespace, commercializing new broadcast standards, air-to-ground communication, and multicast content distribution networks. Before that, he worked with Toyota, Nissan, Fulmer, and other automotive and technology brands to innovate and demonstrate new concepts.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfoth/

Antonio Franchi works at the European Space Agency as the Head of the 5G and 6G NTN Strategic Programme in the Telecommunications & Integrated Applications Directorate.
Antonio has over 30 years of experience in the satellite telecommunications industry.
Prior to ESA, Antonio worked for over 20 years with a major global satellite operator, spearheading a new generation of satellite communications systems, covering various technical and managerial responsibilities for design, development, implementation and operation of advanced satellite systems and networks.
Antonio received an MSc in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome and an MBA from the London Business School.
He is author of 30+ articles and papers published at international conferences and professional magazines and he holds six international patents in the satcom field.

Brian Pemberton leads corporate sales and marketing activities for Omnispace, which is redefining mobile connectivity for the 21st century. In this role, he is responsible for establishing the global distribution strategy, developing the product marketing strategy, and building the brand for the world's first seamless, 5G-based 'one global network.'

Brian brings more than 20 years of experience in global wireless, terrestrial and satellite communications to his role. Most recently as the Vice President and General Manager of Iridium Communications Inc.'s Aviation and Maritime businesses, Brian was responsible for ensuring the success of two key global growth initiatives for the company. He led the company's award-winning broadband initiative, Iridium Certus, which provided unprecedented mobile satellite services for aviation, maritime and terrestrial customers. He also led the development and launch of the Iridium GMDSS enhanced safety service which offered reliable coverage at sea. Prior to that, Brian held senior marketing and engineering roles at commercial and military aviation leader ARINC, which is now part of Collins Aerospace.
Brian holds a master's degree in business from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech University.

Benny Retnamony is the founder and CEO of Neuron, a connectivity and digital management platform for things that move, including planes, ships and trains. Neuron enables digital experience transformation by combining real-time data and AI to provide companies with deep visibility, insights and control over their connectivity, across multiple providers and systems. With unprecedented access to real-time, spatiotemporal connectivity and performance data, Neuron helps business leaders make informed decisions to save time, reduce costs, optimize network performance, boost revenue and accelerate digital experiences, wherever they are in the world.

Prior to founding Neuron, formerly called ESpace Networks, Benny held senior engineering roles at Anuvu, formerly Global Eagle, and he holds an Engineering degree in Telecommunications.

Andrew Zolli oversees the sustainable development, humanitarian, and human rights Impact portfolio at Planet, a breakthrough geospatial imaging organization that has deployed the largest constellation of Earth-observing satellites in history. Together, these satellites image the entire surface of the Earth, every day, in high resolution. When analyzed with advanced machine learning techniques, this imagery has transformational value for addressing a host of global challenges, including improving agriculture, delivering sustainable development, monitoring peace and conflict, ensuring human rights, predicting food insecurity, assessing climate change, delivering disaster response, and improving conservation, among many others. Andrew is also the author of Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back, which has been published in many languages.

Daniel L. Jablonsky was appointed to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Maxar Technologies and to the Company's Board of Directors on January 13, 2019.

Previously, Mr. Jablonsky had served as President of DigitalGlobe since October 2017, when the company became part of Maxar Technologies. He joined DigitalGlobe in 2012 as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and also held the role of General Manager, International Defense & Intelligence from 2015 to 2017.

Prior to DigitalGlobe, Mr. Jablonsky was a shareholder at the law firm of Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck, LLP from 2011 to March 2012, where he practiced corporate and securities law. From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Jablonsky served as the Interim Co-General Counsel of Flextronics International Ltd., and from 2007 to 2010, he held the role of Senior Corporate Counsel, Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions at Flextronics. Mr. Jablonsky previously was in-house counsel at UBS Financial Services, Inc., served in the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and practiced corporate and securities law with O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Mr. Jablonsky holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law. Prior to law school, Mr. Jablonsky was an officer and nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy.

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, one of India's first generation corporations, with interests in Telecom, Space, Insurance, Real Estate, Hospitality and Food. Bharti has joint ventures with several global leaders: SingTel, SoftBank, AXA, Del Monte, the UK Government, amongst others.

Bharti Airtel, the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises, is a global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and covers a population of over two billion. Airtel is India's largest integrated telecom provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. At the end of March 2021, Airtel had over 470 mn customers across its operations.

Bharti Global in partnership with the UK Government recently acquired OneWeb - a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. This new-age Space initiative will provide high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity in deep rural, maritime, aviation and defense sector across the globe by 2022. Sunil is the Executive Chairman of OneWeb.

Sunil is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, awarded to individuals for demonstrating distinguished services of high order. He has also been awarded Harvard Business School's Alumni Achievement Honor - the utmost honor accorded by the institute to its alumni. He is the recipient of GSMA's prestigious Chairman award, besides being decorated with numerous industry honors. Sunil has been conferred Honorary Doctorates by several leading universities in India and Europe.

Sunil serves on many international bodies and think tanks; He served as the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Chairman of GSM Association (GSMA) concurrently from 2016 to 2018. He has been a Trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) from 2009 to 2021. He is a member of International Business Council-WEF and Commissioner of the Broadband Commission, a member of the Global Board of Advisors at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Member of Board of Trustees at Education Above All Foundation, Qatar and on the Board of Qatar Foundation Endowment. He has also served as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the premier industry body in India. Sunil has served on the boards of several multinational companies including Unilever PLC, Standard Chartered Bank PLC and SoftBank Corp.

Sunil is closely associated with spearheading the Indian industry's global trade initiatives - he has served on the Prime Minister of India's Council on Trade and Industry. He is also a member of the India-US, India-UK and India-Japan, India-Sweden CEO Forums. He is Co-Chair of the India-Africa Business Council.

Deeply associated with the cause of education, Sunil is on Harvard University's Global Advisory Council and has served on the Board of Dean's Advisors at Harvard Business School.

Sunil believes that a responsible corporate has a duty to give back to the community in which it operates. This belief has resulted in Bharti Foundation, which operates more than 180 Satya Bharti Schools as well as supports over 790 government schools to ensure holistic education. Over 4.5 lakh underprivileged children in rural India have benefitted from the programmes of Bharti Foundation since its inception. Sunil was ranked among the Top 25 Philanthropists in the World in 2009 by the Barron's Magazine.