Brigadier General Carlos de Salas

Born in 1955 (Zaragoza) BG De Salas entered the SPArmy as Engineer & Signal Corps Officer.
In 1976 as Lieutenant and following the Helicopters pilot’s course, was assigned to the 4º HELO Battalion as Pilot and Signal Officer.

In 1979 as Captain, he was assigned to SPArmy Aviation. 1980-81 he attended the USArmy Transportation School Helicopter Maintenance Officer and Test pilot Course. In 1985 attended the SPArmy Signal School, EW Course. 1985-89 Commander of Signal & Air Control Coy and XO/S3 Helo Battalion.

In 1989 as Major he was graduated, with honors, from the SPArmy General Staff (GS) College and was assigned to the OPS Division. In 1993 was S5 Chief UNPROFOR in BiH (FYROM).

In 1995 as LTC he was assigned to the Cabinet of the SPArmy Chief of Staff. 1998-2001 he was nominated as the first Spanish LNO to the USArmy Combined Arms Center (USA). 2001-02 was the Commander of the 1ST EW SP Battalion.

In 2002 as COL was Chief of the Joint Strategic Department SP Joint GS. 2004-07 was G6-CIS to NRDC and the Commander of the 21st Signal Regiment. In 2007 was J4 Chief Logistic at KFOR HQ (KOSOVO).

In 2008 as BG he was appointed as CoS Canary Islands Military Command and in 2012 General Deputy Director of the Land Systems Directorate. Nowadays he is the Head/PEO of the C4ISR&Space Programs at the SP MoD National Armament’s Directorate.

His awards include several Spanish Military & Civilian medals, the UNPROFOR, NATO Balkans, USArmy Meritorious Service, French National Defense (Silver) Medals… and others.

Married to Concepcion (psychologist), they have two children. He is Knight of San Jorge and Professor at the SEI-International Studies Society.
 

Captain David Moody

Born in Middlesbrough, David joined the Royal Navy as an Artificer Apprentice in Sep 1985 and attended Britannia Royal Naval College for Officer Training in Jan 1988. He completed an Electrical Engineering Degree at the Royal Naval Engineering College between 1988 and 1991 and subsequently joined HMS BRAVE as the Deputy Weapon Engineer Officer and deployed on OP SHARPGUARD to the Adriatic in 1994.

Following this first sea appointment he taught Electronic Warfare at HMS DRYAD, and afterwards acted as the as System Manager for all NATO Strategic Communications in North Western Europe. On promotion to Lieutenant Commander, in 2000, he moved to the Defence Crisis Management Centre in London as the Military Technical Advisor and Crisis Management Officer; this tour of duty encompassed UK Fire Fighter Strikes, Foot & Mouth, the national Fuel crisis as well as 9/11 operations. His ‘Professional Charge’ appointment was undertaken as the Weapon Engineer Officer of HMS MONTROSE and this rewarding appointment involved bringing the Ship out of its first major refit period in Rosyth, the rescue of the stricken Canadian submarine HMCS CHICOUTIMI and a deployment to the Arabian Gulf.

David then joined Navy Command Headquarters, C4ISTAR Division as the RN Command Support System (RNCSS) Desk Officer, responsible for frontline RNCSS capability delivery, the RNCSS Helpdesk and the embryonic Fleet CIS Support Unit. In 2008 he moved to the Maritime Capability Trial and Assessment (MCTA) organisation for duties as the Type 45 Destroyer and Frigates Platform Manager and delivered innovative post refit trial programmes as well as contributing to the introduction of new Ship Performance Assessment trials as a part of the Through Life assessment for frontline operational ships.

Selected for promotion to Commander in 2011, David was immediately appointed to HQ ISAF, Kabul in Afghanistan where he directed the improvement of 24/7 service delivery and availability of mobile phone telecommunications across the country (17 million subscribers). He was awarded the NATO Meritorious Service Medal for his work in support of Afghanistan.

On return from Afghanistan David accepted the appointment as the first Commanding Officer of the Maritime C5ISR Support Unit (MCSU) responsible for delivery of a range of C5ISR services and equipment in support of operational activities before taking up an appointment as the first RN Joint Force CIS Middle East - JFCIS(ME) Commander between Dec 2014 to Jun 2015. On return from deployment David joined Joint Forces Command C4ISR Capability Branch as the Desk Officer for SATCOM and Strategic Networks.

Promoted to Captain in Jan 2018, he has remained at Joint Forces Command C4ISR Capability Branch and has become Deputy Head for Space.

Married to Dawn with one daughter Erin (2008), David lives in Hampshire where his interests include DIY, anything to do with the outdoors, trying to keep fit and the remainder of his time is absorbed in keeping up with Erin.
 

Captain Dez Hill

Captain Hill joined the Marine Corps in 2009 and served as a cyber network operator before commissioning as a C4 systems officer in 2012. He has since served as a radio platoon commander and battalion communications officer in the 4th Marine Logistics Group and as section officer-in-charge at the Marine Corps Cyber Operations Group. He is currently the G-6 projects officer at the Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, where he is primarily concerned with coalition C4 interoperability and posturing the northern flank of NATO and the European Arctic in support of EUCOM operational planning.

Colonel Cameron Stoltz

Colonel Cam Stoltz enrolled in the Canadian Forces in 1985. 1n 1989, following an initial two years at the Royal Roads Military College, he graduated from the Royal Canadian Military College in Kingston, Ontario with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
Commissioned into the Communications and Electronics Branch, his first posting was to the Aerospace Maintenance Development Unit in Trenton. In 1992 he returned to RMC, obtaining a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. Transferred to Ottawa in 1994, he spent the following years providing engineering support to Air Traffic Control and satellite communications systems. Promoted to Major in 1998, he joined the Canadian Military Satellite Communications project as a Senior Engineer and would complete a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Ottawa before departing Ottawa.
Transferred to the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment (CFJSR) in 2000, Colonel Stoltz would serve as Regimental Administration Officer, as well as Officer Commanding for both 3 and 4 Squadron. In April 2003, Colonel Stoltz took command of the Operation APOLLO National Command Control and Information Systems (NCCIS) Squadron in Camp Mirage. Upon return, he returned to Trenton and took command of 8 Air Communications and Control Squadron, a position he held until commencing the Canadian Forces Command and Staff Course in 2005.
In 2006, Colonel Stoltz was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and posted to Winnipeg, where he served as 1 Canadian Air Division / Canadian NORAD Region A6 and Headquarters Commanding Officer. Colonel Stoltz returned to Kingston and assumed command of the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment in 2009. In 2012, following second language training, Colonel Stoltz returned to Ottawa as Director Strategic Communication Services. He was promoted to his current rank in 2013, and assumed the position of Director Air Support in 2015. In 2017, Colonel Stoltz was posted to his current position as Director Space Requirements.
 

Colonel Jae Soong Lee

Colonel Jae Soong Lee is a signal officer in Republic of Korea Army. He graduated from the Korea Military Academy in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering. He obtained a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in the U.S. in 2002. He received Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 2009. He has served as a signal commander and staff in the various echelons of ROK Army. Currently, he is in charge of planning division of Defense Communication Command.

 

Colonel Laurent Jannin

Laurent Jannin works for the French Ministry of Defence, at DGA (Directorate for acquisition).

He is currently Head of SYRACUSE III and SYRACUSE IV (former “COMSAT NG”) Programs. This includes acquisition and maintenance for space and ground segments. At the same time, he is head of ATHENA/COMCEPT operations which includes the Ka-band satellite, in cooperation with Italy, and its ground segment.

Prior to that, he worked successively for the Helios II military satellite program, for the energy ministry, for the “Cour des comptes” (French public accounting office), and for the CERES Elint satellite program.

He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in 1998 and Ecole National Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in 2000.
 

Colonel Shinichiro Tsui

2016.4 ~ : Present Position
2015.4 ~ 2016.3 : Commander of 28th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, JASDF
2014.8 ~ 2015.3 : Development Department, Air Staff Office, JASDF
2012.8 ~ 2014.7 : Personnel & Education Department, Air Staff Office, JASDF
2011.7 ~ 2012.7 : Defense Planning Department, Air Staff Office, JASDF
2010.4 ~ 2011.3 : Air Staff College, JASDF
2008.8 ~ 2010.3 : Head Quarter of Air Defense Command, JASDF
2006.9 ~ 2008.7 : Air Development & Test Wing, JASDF
2002.8 ~ 2006.8 : University of Alabama, Graduate School
2000.3 ~ 2002.7 : Western Aircraft Control & Warning Wing, JASDF
1999.4 ~ 2000.2 : Officer Candidate School, JASDF
1993.4 ~ 1999.3 : Kyoto University
 

Commander Phil Coope

Phil joined the Royal Navy as a Weapon Engineer in 1993 following a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Liverpool University. During his career he has conducted UK maritime and multinational operations in Hong Kong, Mediterranean, Caribbean/Central America, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Northern Arabian Gulf. Whilst he has primarily served on T22 and T23 Frigates, he had the honour of being part of the team that introduced HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH into Service in 2017 (as the Mission System Design Acceptance Authority). Outside of operations and ship building, Phil’s 25-year career has focussed on the fields of Capability and Acquisition and Education. He was instrumental in the development of the Royal Navy’s Local Area Air Defence Capability (Medium Range Radar (RT997) and Sea Ceptor) and worked with McKinsey Consultancy in response to the MoD’s Spending Round challenge in 2013. Keen to broaden beyond engineering, Phil was both Student and Directing Staff at the UK’s Joint Services Command and Staff College. Promoted to Commander in 2013, Phil is building on his previously experience within Navy Command Headquarters in his current role as Joint Forces Command’s Capability Manager for Strategic Satellite and Terrestrial Networks and the Programme Manager for Skynet 6. Married to Victoria, they enjoy the outdoor life in the Gloucestershire countryside. A fan of many sports and (trying) to keep fit, Phil is also the Chairman of Royal Navy Rowing and has penchant for Karaoke…

Commodore Christian Anuge

Commodore Christian Anuge Retired from the Nigerian Navy in August 2017 . He was the Director of Logistics at the Nigerian Defence Intelligence Agency and the Deputy Chief of Defence Space Administration.

Christian Anuge is an alumni of the International Space University Strasbourg, France. In addition he obtained a Masters in Strategic Studies and was trained China as a Certified Satellite Orbit Engineer at the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunication Technology. He is presently the Managing Director of Spaceapps Consults Limited, a firm involved in satellite communication, navigation and earth observation in Nigeria. He is a fellow of the National Defence College, Nigeria.
 

Dr Michael O'Callaghan

Mike took up leadership of the Dstl Space Science and Technology Programme in April 2017. He has worked for Dstl since 2007, after receiving his Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Nottingham, the latter for work on solid-state Lithium-Ion conductors. Having begun his career at Dstl researching materials for Defence applications, he spent two years providing technical advice and support to Dstl S&T Programme Directors covering a wide range of research and technology areas. He then spent 18 months as part of the “C4ISR Concepts and Solutions” project working on research to address MOD’s Information and Intelligence systems issues, followed by almost two years managing Dstl’s Technical Directorate, reporting directly to Dstl’s Chief Technical Officer. Prior to taking up his current role, Mike spent two years leading a research programme seeking to understand how MOD could transform its command, control, information and intelligence enterprise to address the challenges and opportunities of operating in the information age.
 

General Sir Chris Deverell

General Sir Chris Deverell was commissioned into the Second Royal Tank Regiment in 1979. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, he saw regimental service in Northern Ireland, Germany, Belize and Cyprus. He commanded the Joint Nuclear Biological and Chemical Regiment (First Royal Tank Regiment) at RAF Honington in Suffolk, and 4th Armoured Brigade in Iraq and Germany.

General Deverell has served four appointments in the Head Office of the Ministry of Defence: in Land Systems Operational Requirements, in Army Plans, as Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence, and as Director of Equipment Capability (Ground Manoeuvre). His operational appointments include Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Land Operations in the Permanent Joint Headquarters, Chief of Staff to the Senior British Military Advisor at US Central Command during the build-up to and invasion of Iraq, and Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations/Commitments) in Headquarters Land Forces.

On promotion to Major General in December 2008, he became Director General Logistics Support and Equipment in Headquarters Land Forces, before moving to Defence Equipment and Support in March 2011 as Director Materiel Strategy. In July 2012 he was appointed Chief of Materiel (Land) and Quartermaster General. Upon promotion to General in April 2016 he assumed Command of Joint Forces Command.

He is married to Alex and has two sons.
 

Lieutenant Colonel Abde Bellahnid

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Trias PhD

Lt Col Eric D. Trias, PhD, is the Commander, Air Force Space Command Cyberspace Support Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The CYSS’ mission is to provide cyberspace forces with strategic planning, requirements development, program management, and cyberspace expertise in collaboration with warfighters, Services and Agencies. From 2008-2011, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) where he conducted research in satellite communications, data mining and information security.

Lieutenant Colonel Jaime Sanchez Mayorga

Born in 1963, son of a S.A.F. NCO "Specialist Photography and Cartography", he is in charge of Space Unit, in the Programs Management Sub-Directorate of General of Armament and Material.

Since his graduation in the Spanish AF Academy to the current days, he has done several courses and high studies related with Defense activities, which has been supplemented with University studies in Telecommunication, Network and Systems, and Strategic Direction on TIC,s, Program Managing, etc…

He was in charge of the Technical Squadron and Deputy to the Spanish Center for Aerospace Observation Systems, Head of the Spanish Pleiades program, responsible for the SATCOM Program DGAM, MoD representative in the SST Consortium and recently nominated, by the Spanish MoD Secretary of the State, as SATCOM NG Program Manager.
 

As a representative in national and international working groups, his task is to follow the evolution and development in the four areas of application in space for the Defense: Communications (GOVSATCOM), Observation (PAZ and SEOB EDA), Navigation (GNSS-Galileo) and surveillance and Space Tracking (SST EU).
He is chairman in different Working Groups concerning Space issues, at national and international level.

He takes part in many National and International conferences, forum and discussion meetings, concerning Space technologies and capabilities.
He has written various articles of interest in Aeronautical and Defense Magazines, concerning Space, Jisr, Industrial Sector Space Policy, Space Law, etc...,

Lt.Col. Mayorga, he considers himself as a “never ending Space student”.
 

Lieutenant Colonel Luca De Angelis

LTC Luca DE ANGELIS is an IT Army Signal Officer. He is the Spectrum and Satellite Resources Manager for the Italian Army.

He attended the Military School in Modena from 1994 to 1996, then Military Specialization School in Turin from 1996 to 1999 where, in 2000, he got bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences.

He started his active service in the Army in 1999 at the 7th Signal Regiment in Sacile, then in 2005 he moved to Bolzano to the 2nd Signal Mountain Regiment. In 2013 he moved to Florence to early established Friuli Division at the J6 Cell. He commanded the Signal Battalion “Abetone”, being in charge for providing the signal services to military dislocations in Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, for support of the CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) acting as a CIRT (Computer Incident Response Team) .

He took part in Italian Army missions in Albania (2000 and 2001), Kosovo (2002 and 2005), Iraq (2003), Afganistan (2006) and Lebanon (2007 and 2009).

Born in 1975 in Rome, he is married and has three children.

Lieutenant Colonel Luigi Mauro

Lt.Col. Luigi MAURO is currently the Chief SATCOM Section of the Satellite Division, Italian MoD – Direzione Informatica, Telematica e Tecnologie Avanzate (TELEDIFE). He has served in this position since November 2009.

Lt.Col. Mauro earned a Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of Bari, southern Italy in 1988, delivering a thesis upon “Thermopower and Hall mobility in a-GaAs” and soon after he specialized in “Advanced Mathematical Modelling for Industrial Applications”.
After joining the Italian Air Force in 1990 with the rank of Lieutenant, Lt.Col. Mauro attended the specialization in “Meteorology and Physics of the Atmosphere” until mid 1992.

Throughout his Air Force career Lt.Col. Mauro served in various positions in multiple national and international assignments and deployments including as Chief Meteorologist at the NATO 5th ATAF HQ, Vicenza, Italy; as Chief Forecaster, X and XIII Italian Antarctic Expeditions, Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica; as Engineer Executive Officer of the Engineering Division, SFOR HQ, Sarajevo (B&H); as Strategic Analyst / Information Research within the Strategic Concepts Analysis Branch of the Future Capabilities, Research and Technology Division of the NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT), Norfolk, VA (USA).

Lt.Col. Mauro specialized in 2002 in “Telecommunications” at the “Information Technology and Optoelectronics” Defense College, Rome, and in 2010-2011 he earned a Post-MSc Master in “Advanced Communication and Navigation Satellite Systems”, University “Tor Vergata”, Rome.
In the position as Chief SATCOM Section he has performed as Contract Manager of a number of relevant contracts regarding the acquisition of the SICRAL 2 satellite system (within a cooperation between France and Italy), the ATHENA FIDUS Ground and User Segment, some R&T programs, and so on. He has also served as Chairman of the Technical Acceptance Board of the SICRAL 2 Program, the OPTSAT-3000 Program (within a MoU between Italy and Israel), and many other minor or ancillary programs.

Lt.Col. Mauro was also appointed as National Representative for the System-on-Chip Program (SoC) of the European Defence Agency (EDA), 2011-2016.
Under contract with the National Research Council he was appointed Professor of “Optoelectronics – Principles and Devices” for the Post-MSc Master in “Complex Electronic Systems Engineering” at the “Information Technology and Optoelectronics” Defense College, Rome.

Lt.Col. Mauro also holds a Certification as Ionizing Radiations Expert and is listed in the related National (1st and 2nd level) Qualified Expert Roster.
Lt. Col. Mauro is the co-author of papers on:
- Software Defined Payload Architecture
- SATCOM systems for multi-RPAS connectivity scenarios.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hose

Lieutenant Colonel Mick Hose is the Australian Defence Force Headquarters staff officer assigned for the capability development of their future SATCOM system. After a junior officer career spanning operations, Regimental Signals Officer and Regional Force Surveillance assignments, LTCOL Hose specialised in C4ISREW project management. After an assignment to the United States Strategic Command Space and Missile C4 Division, LTCOL Hose has dedicated the last four years to project start-up for the future Australian Defence SATCOM system.

Major Alexis Bancet

Alexis Bancet was appointed in February 2018 manager for MILSATCOM international affairs at Directorate for Operations of DGA (French MoD Acquisition Agency).
Principal Armament Engineer, he was between 2015 and 2018 Executive Director for “North East Asia” at Directorate for International development of DGA (French MoD Acquisition Agency).

He has formerly worked as the French MILSATCOM system architect, in charge of the overall technical architecture and performance, including feasibility, definition and qualification of the space and ground segments of the SYRACUSE III, SICRAL 2 and ATHENA-FIDUS programmes. He has also been directly involved in the satcom cooperation with Italy and NATO. He started his career in the earth observation domain to prepare the next generation of French military satellite capabilities at technological level.
He graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Constructions Aéronautiques (ENSICA) in Toulouse in 2004.
 

Major Geoffroy Beaudot

Joining the Department of Defence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in May 2016 in order to develop the Space programmes, including SatCom and Earth Observation systems, Major Major Beaudot attended the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium and graduated with Master of Engineering, Telecommunication.
 
He started his career as Head of a Network Supervision team and in 2006 managed the service in charge of the satellite communication hub of the Belgian MoD. After three years in this function, he became SatCom Program Manager, still working for Belgian Defence. He followed his staff course in 2012 and afterwards joined the 4th Group Communications and Information Systems as Officer Operations & Training. Prior joining the Department of Defence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, in 2015 he came back to the military staff as Head of the Cell C³ Platforms Integration.

Today, he is also representing the Department of Defence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in different SPACE initiatives at EDA, ESA and EU Commission and also representing the Government at NATO SatCom capability team meetings.
 

Mr Allan Ballenger

Allan Ballenger joined SES Government Solutions as Corporate Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer effective January 2018. He leads the SES GS Sales and Business Development Team to produce winning solutions for US Government customers. He works with US government, intelligence and civilian agencies to help determine their requirements and offer customized communications support, hosted payload opportunities, and end-to-end network solutions. He also communicates those requirements to the SES parent organization to take advantage of existing on-orbit SES satellite fleet capacity, or to influence future satellite designs. He also works closely with industry partners to craft solutions to meet US government specialized communications and network needs.

Prior to joining SES GS, Mr. Ballenger had a distinguished 30-year career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Colonel in 2010. From 2002 to 2007, Mr. Ballenger was the Navstar Global Positioning System Wing Commander at the Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo, CA. He led a joint-service, multinational, civil-military systems wing and was responsible for development, launch, sustainment, and worldwide operations of GPS, the world’s premier navigation and timing standard. Mr Ballenger also held a variety of systems acquisition positions spanning aircraft systems, classified intelligence systems, ICBMs, and logistics, and included joint tours at the National Security Agency, the Defense Mapping Agency, and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

From 2010 thru 2014 Mr Ballenger held various positions of increasing responsibility in industry at TASC, Inc., leading and growing their Air Force business. From 2015 until 2018, Mr. Ballenger served as Vice President for Air Force programs at Engility, which merged with TASC in 2015. He was accountable for profit and loss for a portfolio over $125M annual revenue serving a diverse set of Air Force and Joint DoD customers spanning 15 geographic locations across the United States.
Mr. Ballenger graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in electrical engineering, then earned an M.S. in electrical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, an MBA from the George Washington University, and an M.S. in National Resources Management from the National Defense University. A life member of both the Air Force Association (AFA) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), he served as Vice President of the Charles Gabriel Chapter of the AFA in northern Virginia and is Vice President, Eastern Region of NDIA’s Space Division. Mr. Ballenger also serves as an elected member of the Golf Club Advisory Board at Lansdowne.
 

Mr Andy Hoyle

Andy Hoyle is a highly experienced communications systems engineer and senior manager with over 30 years Satcom and specifically MilSatCom experience ranging from satellite payload equipment to payload, satellite system and end-to-end system design, development, manufacture, testing and commissioning.

Andy has contributed significantly to all UK MoD major MilSatCom programmes since 1984 including Skynet 4 Stages 1, Skynet 4 Stage 2, NATO IV, Bi/In/Eu-milsatcom studies, TRIMILSATCOM, SKYNET 5 Design Phase and competition and the Skynet 5 PFI programme for which he was the overall SDA and Chief Engineer for 10 years.

Andy has worked closely with a wide range of MoD stakeholders throughout his career including providing ad hoc seconded to MoD for their Future BLOS Concept Phase Studies and has responsibility within Airbus Defence & Space for managing Airbus’ relationship and engagement with MoD and DSTL on S&T, Niteworks and future studies.
 

Mr Andy Lincoln

Andy Lincoln is the Chief Technology Officer for Viasat’s Government Products Portfolio. In this role, Andy is responsible for establishing and communicating the technical vision for a diverse range of products including our government satellite communications systems, tactical networks, situational awareness, encryption, cyber/network security, and protected communications products. Andy’s technical interests range from waveforms to protocols and networks and from ASICs to modems, radios, terminals, and gateways.
Andy joined Viasat in 1997 and has over 30 years’ experience in communications systems, including terrestrial wireless, satellite communications and terrestrial networking for defense, commercial, and consumer applications. Andy is part of Viasat’s Government Systems technical leadership team working to bring resilient, cyber-secure, protected, and affordable communications to Defense users through leverage of Viasat’s commercial high capacity satellite systems.
Andy holds Bachelor’s and Masters’ degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and University of California San Diego, respectively, focusing on communications theory and system design.
 

Mr Antonio Calderon

Mr. Antonio Calderon of Spain, has served NATO for over a decade, and currently holds the position of Chief NSII within the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency).
In his current post, he is accountable for the strategy, planning and execution of all lifecycle management activities enabling NATO NSII Services world-wide.
He is Executive for NSII Portfolio of programmes, projects and services (EUR 2Billion+), covering service areas such as SATCOM, Wireless & Maritime communications, NATO Static Networks as well as Deployable Communications related to Operations and Exercises.
He leads a team of 350+ talented professionals geographically distributed over 15 locations world-wide, a multicultural diverse team including NATO civilians, military and contractors.
His interest for Telecommunications stems back to the 1970s, following the gift of a magic set of ‘walkie-talkies’. This early fascination with Telecommunications has steered the course of Antonio’s education and career. From the University of Seville he was awarded an MSc Degree in Telecommunications Engineering, with honours.
Prior to Antonio’s most recent executive appointment he served also in NCI Agency as acting Chief Core Enterprise Services, a similar post leading a multicultural team of 200 people and managing a business portfolio of EUR 200M, covering capability areas such as NATO Data Centres, Private-Public Cloud services, Managed End-user devices and Information Exchange Gateways.
He began his career after University with the Spanish private telecommunications company Amena Auna, engineering the initial roll-out of Mobile networks in Spain. After a short period in London UK, he moved to Orange in 2002 as Transmission Project Manager based in The Hague, leading introduction of 3G services, same day as the Euro currency was established in Europe, perfect timing to move countries.
In 2006 Antonio moved from industry to NATO, when he was then engaged as Principal Project Management Officer, leading major NATO Communications projects of over 500M EUR, based in NATO HQ Brussels.
In 2012 he migrated to the newly formed NCI Agency and with it he got the opportunity of a new post within Cyber Security Service Line, as the Principal Manager to deliver the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC FOC), enhancing the security posture of NATO networks worldwide. Antonio is married with two children, and has enjoyed playing football in the national amateur leagues in The Netherlands and Belgium.
 

Mr Barry Austin

Barry Austin joined the Ministry of Defence in 1984, with the expectation that it would be a short term appointment until something better came along.
Having started work in the Central Accounting and Finance Teams, he was subsequently promoted to Executive Officer (Information Technology) and posted to the IT development team responsible for designing and implementing MOD’s New Management Strategy (NMS) – which oversaw the introduction of the TLB approach to managing Defence. Subsequent postings in IT Project Management took him to Worcester and then RAF Henlow where he became the Data and Integration Manager for the RAF’s enterprise Logistics Information system.

Having gone through the Defence Finance Accountancy Training Scheme, he felt it was time to return to his core financial roots and was posted to HMNB Clyde as the Finance and Business Manager for the Facilities and Naval Base Design Authority Directorate. This then led to a return to the Air Environment where he became the Financial Planning manager for the Equipment Support Programme within the Defence Logistics Organisations.
Having heard the plaintiff cries of IT once again, he returned to the world of Logistics Information Systems. Initially as the Business and Transformation Manager within the Logistics Applications Project Team and after successfully completing the MOD Assessment Centre he became the Assistant Head of the newly created Logistics Networked Enabled Capability (Log NEC) Team. Having navigated the team through Main Gate approval for the Future Logistics Information Services (FLIS) partnership, he was promoted to Deputy Head of Log NEC with responsibility for Programme and Performance Management.
Having commuted between Somerset and Abbey Wood for several years, he seized on the opportunity to become the Deputy Team Leader for the Networks Delivery Team within ISS. In 2017 he became the acting Team Leader on temporary promotion to the Senior Civil Service and was subsequently appointed as the SKYNET 6 Acquisition Programme Manager in August 2018.

In his spare time, he likes to read history, travel and avoid anything too strenuous. In addition, he continues to wonder whether the Civil Service will provide a meaningful and long term career.
 

Mr Brian Aziz

Mr Brian Rodriquez

Brian Rodriguez is the Director of Business Development and Strategy for Raytheon’s Protected Communication Systems Organization, a Product Line in the Integrated Communication Systems Mission Area within the Space and Airborne Systems Business. He leads new business activities and strategy development for Satellite Communications capabilities that include AEHF and WGS terminal technologies and programs such as the Navy Multiband terminal, Family of Airborne Terminals, Global Aircrew Strategic Network Terminal, Secure Mobile Anti-Jam Reliable Tactical Terminal as well as emerging protected tactical SATCOM and data link technologies and capabilities for contested and denied environments. Mr. Rodriguez has 36 years in defense systems development, manufacture and deployment, including international sales, with a focus on Satellite Communications and Radar.
with demonstrated skills to develop and execute projects. He has an engineering and program management background with experience in all phases of complex small to large-scale programs including; development, operations management, technology programs, production transition and product/systems lifecycle management. Previously, Rodriguez was a Director for the Civil Communications Solutions business area. As part of that team, Rodriguez and the team built a new business area to address Public Safety and Homeland Security needs for state, local and federal users. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Rodriguez served within Raytheon as the Director of the Naval Satellite Communications Programs. Brian’s success in this role was demonstrated by a satisfied customer and the doubling Raytheon’s Navy SATCOM business.
He came to Raytheon from Hughes Aircraft Company where he was a leader developing and deploying airborne radars to the US Air Force and Navy. Rodriguez received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 1983 from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems is a leading provider of integrated sensor, communication and electronic warfare systems giving military forces the most accurate and timely actionable information available for the network-centric battlefield. With a workforce of 13,000 and 2016 sales of $6.2 billion, SAS is headquartered in McKinney, Texas, with operations across the U.S. and internationally. Raytheon Company, with 2016 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.
 

Mr Chris Long

Mr Christopher Baugh

Mr David Kingdon-Jones

Airbus is strategically making a multi-million Euro investment in a programme called Network for the Sky. This is a modular set of secure connectivity services and sub-systems, enabling defence and government aircraft to become smarter by delivering superior voice, data and imagery. 
As a cloud based networked network, it improves each aircraft’s communications and joins them up with satellites and offices, or military forces on the ground; forming one superior, resilient and highly secure communications network.
I have been leading the multi- functional team for this programme since its inception 12 months ago.
Prior this I was Head of Product Marketing, re-juvenating the function, putting in place strategic portfolio reviews and new product development processes to reshape the product catalogue.
Previously, I worked for 13 years at Inmarsat, firstly in the Strategy Team, where I led the launch of BGAN and latterly leading the Product and Service Management Team. Prior to Inmarsat, I completed an MBA at Cranfield having worked in Marketing Consultancy for the previous 15 years. My first job after he left Birmingham University, where he read Metallurgy & Materials Science, was at Touche Ross, working in audit and tax.
I am married with two daughters, Tabitha & Jemima, aged 21 and 16. The family home is in Kent, a stone’s throw from Chartwell, the home of Winston Churchill.
My hobbies include cycling, squash, skiing and kitesurfing.
 

Mr Dean Olson

Mr Dylan Browne

Mr Eric Moltzau

Eric leads strategic planning, business development activities, mergers and acquisitions, and hosted payload programs for expanding Satellite Communications and Space Services into government and commercial markets in North America. He also serves as part of a group for leading the development and delivery of similar services to international governments.

Prior to joining Eutelsat, he served at Intelsat General Corporation, where he led a corporate team responsible for developing and delivering all aspects of new Satellite Network and Space Services for emerging customer markets.

Eric retired from the U.S. Air Force after 21 years of service, where he served in a broad range of space leadership positions, in disciplines including spacecraft and ground system development and operations. While serving in the USAF, he also co-founded the Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) program, which demonstrated the value proposition of hosting government payloads on commercial satellites. CHIRP was launched on a commercial communications satellite in 2011.

Eric earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Arizona State University and his Masters of Engineering degree in Space Operations from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. 
 

Mr Eric Watko

Eric Watko leads product management, marketing, customer enablement and portfolio strategy for SES Networks. He is responsible for driving the development of the company's products and vertical market segments. Mr. Watko has extensive experience in satellite communication networks and space-based processor technologies, having worked in the industry for over 20 years (including SES Networks, O3b, VT iDirect and Cisco). His experience in commercial and government satellite and telecommunications industries range from payload system engineering, future satellite communication network architectures, product development, manufacturing and production. Prior to working in the telecommunications industry, Mr. Watko conducted research in the field of optical characterisation of thin film semiconductor fabrication. Mr. Watko holds a BSc in Physics California State University and an MSc in physics with a minor in materials science from North Carolina State University. 

Mr Franck Chatain

Franck Chatain, Product Line Manager, Thales Secure Communications and Information Systems.

With more than 20 years of experience in both telecommunications and space business, Franck Chatain has joined the Network & Infrastructure Systems Business Line of Thales in November 2017 after spending 14 years as Marketing & Sales manager for the Microwave and Imaging sub-systems / Space segment of Thales Avionics division.

Prior to joining Thales group, Franck spent 3 years at Alcatel Optronics, where he was managing the business line of Optoelectronic components for telecommunications.
Doctorate in Optics, Opto-electronics and Physics and graduated in Radio-electricity Engineering from INP Grenoble, France, Franck also has a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications.
 

Mr Gareth Martin

Mr Gerard Donelan

Gerard Donelan spent 14 years in the British military followed by 11 years in a number of positions for NATO, based in Norfolk, Virginia in the United States on the International Staff of the Supreme Allied Commander. These positions encompassed both NATO SATCOM and CRYPTO. Gerard was involved in both land and maritime communications and he received several commendations for the work he undertook for NATO during this time.

Gerard has more than 30 years’ experience in the fields of telecommunications and satellite communications, specializing on government use of commercial services. Gerard continues to use his knowledge, experience and contacts within NATO and European Governments and he is involved on NATO and EU working groups for satellite communications.

Gerard is also a regular speaker, presenter and invited chairman at military conferences and shows and has chaired the Global Milsatcom Conference in London for the last 12 years. He is an invited speaker to United Nations, NATO and European Defence Staff Colleges on military space matters.
 

Mr Hermann Ludwig Moeller

Mr. Moeller is Head of the Institutional and European Programmes Office within the Directorate of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, at ESA Headquarters in Paris.

He has been with ESA for 25 years, and was closely associated with the establishment of the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme as Head of the Space Segment Office.

Since 2013, Mr. Moeller is responsible for the co-operation between the ESA ARTES Programme (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) and related R&D and Programme initiatives of the EU institutions. This includes ESA’s cooperation with H2020 Space as well as with DG Connect, including 5G. Mr. Moeller is also responsible for the ESA preparations for GOVSATCOM, in cooperation with ESA Member States, the European Defence Agency, the European Commission. Partnership with European space industry is an essential element in these efforts.

He holds a Master in Telecommunications following studies at TU Darmstadt and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications in Paris.

Mr Holger Lueschow

Holger Lueschow is Programme Manager Satellite Communication and Project Officer Radio Spectrum in the European Defence Agency since 1st July 2016.
In the EDA he is chairing the Project Team Satcom as well as the Ad-Hoc Working Group for the EDA GOVSATCOM Pooling and Sharing Demonstration project and being the Agencies interface to the GOVSQATCOM related work pf the European Commission and ESA.

Before his move to Brussels he was an active staff officer in the German Air Force most of the time working in the CIS domain ranging from IT-Security to procurement to spectrum policy. His national appointments have been complemented by a tour in the NATO Component Command Air in Izmir, Turkey, where he served in the Ops Branch of the A6 Division.
In the last six years before changing to the EDA Holger served in the German Federal Ministry of Defence being responsible for the German national satellite communication programme, ComSatBw Stage 2, as well as the radio spectrum policy of the German Bundeswehr.  He holds a Master Degree in Electrical Engineering following studies at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich.
Holger lives in Brussels with his wife, three daughters and a dog not neglecting the ties to Germany. He tries to be sportive (cycling and (slow) running) and likes reading (audio)books.
 

Mr Hughes Boulnois

Hughes Boulnois is Director, Head of SpaceDataHighway (European Data Relay System) at Airbus. He is responsible for leading and developing the SpaceDataHighway business and strategy for the Business Line Communication, Intelligence and Security of Airbus. In this role, Mr. Boulnois leads and is accountable for all profit and loss activities concerning the SpaceDataHighway System and Services. This encompasses   all   space   and   ground   infrastructure   deliveries   and operations, as well as the Market Development activities of the Laser Data Relay capability to provide a global coverage and a global service offer to all customers.
Before this role, Mr. Boulnois was Director; Head of Strategy for Secure Land Communications at Airbus. He was in charge for all strategic initiatives related to Professional / Land Mobile Radio systems such as Tetra, Tetrapol, P25 or LTE, as well as the US activities focusing on 9-1-1 call taking systems. As lead strategist, he supported all M&A activities toward the Corporate and was accountable to drive and manage strategic relationships / partners.
Previously, Mr. Boulnois was Director of New Business Defence, responsible & accountable for export Defence Business Development activities at Cassidian in several key domains such as Unmanned Aerial Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) solutions, Combat Aircraft training or Air Defence C2 systems.
Prior to this, he was Manager responsible for Business Development for the UAV Business Line in Manching (Germany). Before moving abroad to Germany, he led for Cassidian a NATO C4ISR programme focusing on developing and enhancing the deployed NATO intelligence assets of the ISAF coalition in Afghanistan. Throughout this NATO programme, Mr. Boulnois held the position of vice-chairman of a NATO group of experts focusing on NATO technical ISR interoperability standards.
He joined EADS in 2004 as a consultant leading and supporting several projects and programmes in various domains, such as joint forces training simulators or advanced intelligence systems.
Prior joining EADS, Boulnois worked as a consultant for Thales and Dassault Aviation for designing advanced training simulators such as the Rafale F2 training simulator. Graduated with a Master of Science in Computer Sciences with honours, he is also a fellow member of the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Defense Nationale (IHEDN – National Defence Academy) in defence strategy and policy.
 

Mr Julian Knight

Julian joined the MoD direct from University and spent his career procuring equipment and services for the UK armed forces.

He has managed and delivered a diverse range of projects; from the heavy engineering of warship and submarine refurbishment to software intensive communication systems; across the project life cycle and in complex and politically sensitive multi-national environments.

He has also led the Ministry’s Best Practice group; identifying, developing and disseminating best practice, devising and driving through continuous improvement, setting policy and creating guidance and regulations. He first brought Earned Value Management into MoD use and is accredited to assess EVM systems for several governments.
 

Mr Koen Willems

Koen Willems has 20 years’ experience working in different technology industries. Before joining Newtec he was Product Marketing Manager for Europe at the electronics giant TOSHIBA. Currently Koen holds the position of Market Director with focus on the government, defense and humanitarian satcom markets at Newtec. In this role Mr. Willems is in charge of developing the government and defense market worldwide for Newtec and managing large projects.

Koen has a Master's degree in English & Scandinavian Languages (University Ghent, Belgium, 1997) and a Master's degree in Marketing Strategy and Management (Vlekho Business School in Brussels, 1998). More recently Koen also received the degree for ‘High Studies in Security and Defence’ at the Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defence as well as the SERA degree (European Session for Armament Officials) for the Defence armament economy course focusing on European challenges at the French National Institute of Higher Defense in Paris.

You may know Koen as a Newtec technology evangelist through his regular appearance in editorials in satellite focused publications, white papers and speaking slots at conferences around the world.
 

Mr Matt Prechtel

Mr. Matt Prechtel is the Business Area Director for the Spectral Data Products and Federal Network Projects business areas of Kratos RT Logic. These two business areas focus on the application of data analytics to RF satellite emissions in support of Electromagnetic Interference detection and Space Situational Awareness and the application of network management software to mission monitoring and mission control projects respectively.

Mr. Prechtel has over 20 years of experience in software engineering and engineering management and holds a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering as well as a MBA.

Mr Michael Rudd

Mike Rudd joined the UK Space Agency in 2016 and is charged with growing the Telecoms sector of Space as the Head of Telecommunications Strategy as part of the Agency’s ambition to capture 10% of the global market by 2030.

His role involves Working with Government, ESA, academia and industry to bring new and innovative satellite Telecoms technologies and services to the market creating and delivering the Agency’s strategy on Telecoms infrastructure, supporting work on the Civil Space Strategy and Supporting UK industry to grow and develop their businesses, investing through ESA’s ARTES programme and other means.

Prior to joining the Agency, Mike spent some 30 years commissioning, supporting and managing the delivery of telecommunications for Defence.
 

Mr Michael Laney

Mr. Michael T. Laney is a Department of the Air Force Civilian who oversees the development of cooperative agreements in MILSATCOM for the U.S. Air Force. He enlisted in the United States Army June 1989, later graduating from the United States Military Academy June 1995. He continued serving on active duty in the United States Army until June 2004. His active duty experiences included multiple overseas assignments and deployments in Europe. Upon separation from the Army, he continued to serve overseas as a Department of the Army Civilian, transferring to the Air Force in 2011 upon his return to Washington.

Mr Patrick Biewer

Patrick Biewer is the Chief Executive Officer of GovSat since 2015, a new satellite operator created out of the Public-Private Venture between the Luxembourg Government and SES. He reports directly to GovSat’s Board of Directors and is in charge of all the business activities as well as building customer relationships with International institutions such as the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Prior to this position, Patrick held a number of executive positions within SES since he joined in 1993, including Managing Director of SES Broadband Services (SBBS).
He is a Luxembourg national and was educated in France and in the UK. He holds a Master Degree in Telecommunications and an MBA from the Open University.
 

Mr Patrick Wood

Patrick is the Director for International Business Development at Lockheed Martin Space, with a global team focused on growing the LM Space business activities internationally in the areas of defence, security, civil and commercial space. The team covers the major regions of the Americas, UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. Patrick is based at the LM UK headquarters in London and leads the Space activities in the UK with a remit to grow the UK LM Space business and is a member of the LM UK Executive Leadership Team. I joined LM Space September 2017.
Patrick is an experienced and trusted space industry senior executive and expert, with a unique insight into the UK, European as well as the global space industry, who is proud to be an engineer with over 30 years experience and keen to show the career opportunities engineering provides to future generations.
Patrick has held key roles in the UK and European space industry covering directorships, executive leadership, programme management, system engineering, engineering design and development, technology, quality, operations, manufacturing, launch and facilities. Working on satellite missions covering all areas of both military and commercial in the areas of telecommunications, science & exploration, institutional, navigation and earth observation, from the smallest satellites of a few kilograms to the largest GEO missions.
- Group CEO of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) March 2015 to Sept 2017.
o Chair UK Space trade association 2017
- SVP Space Systems, Engineering & Ops, Airbus Defence & Space, Jan11 to Mar15.
o Board of Directors Airbus Defence & Space UK Ltd
- Space Systems Chief Technical Officer from April 2008 to Jan 2013.
- Prime System Integrator Programme Director, Skynet 5 space and ground system, Nov 2001 to April 2008
- Head of Space Navigation Programmes, Munich, 2001
- Head of Information Technology and Systems 1999 to 2000
- RF & Electronics Product Group Manager 1997 to 1998
- Skynet 4 Payload Equipment’s Project Manager 1996 to 1997
- Engineering Project Manager at Medelec (Vickers medical group) 1994 to 1996
- Programme manager, design authority and senior engineer in Land and Naval electronic warfare at Thorn Emi, Sensors Group, 1986 to 1994.

Patrick was born in East Yorkshire, educated at Bridlington School and Sheffield University (BEng Hons), married with two grown up children and enjoys countryside walks with our three dogs, clay pigeon shooting, DIY, Land Rover restoration, radio amateur, amsat-UK and electronics.
 

Mr Richard Franklin

Secure Communications is the Airbus Defence and Space lead business for global secure communications build, operations and services. With satellite communications as its backbone, and defence customers at its core, solutions are increasingly focused on the integration of all critical communications for clients that demand the highest availability and security. As more and more assets become connected - whether in the air, on land or at sea - the management of all bearers, guaranteeing connectivity for the most demanding customers is the new mission

Richard Franklin
Head of Secure Communications
Airbus Defence & Space

CAREER HISTORY
Head of Secure Communications, Airbus Defence and Space Present
P&L lead of this critical global service programme line. This is a global operation with a key focus to the European home nations and NATO. In particular within the UK this includes delivery of the Skynet 5 programme to UK MOD and the first commercially operated satellite laser relay EDRS.
Commercial and Strategy Director, G4S UK&I Region 2011 – 2015
Security Business Director, Security Division, QinetiQ Plc 2006 – 2011
Cable and Wireless – a 16 year foundation in international telecoms with a major focus on international networks and capacity investment - culminating in overall responsibility for the Cable and Wireless international asset portfolio and annual spend in excess of £1.5BN
 

Mr Rick Henry

Mr Rick Lober

Rick Lober joined Hughes in late 2008 as Vice President and General Manager of the Defense and Intelligence Systems Division (DISD). He has over 30 years experience with both COTS-based and full MIL communications and intelligence systems starting as a design engineer and progressing to a P&L executive. He has previously worked at Cubic Communications, Inc. and Watkins-Johnson Company.

Mr. Lober received his BS and MSEE degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana.
 

Mr Thomas Becht

Ms Andrea Loper

Ms. Loper presently serves as the principal acquisition program manager for the Space Vehicles Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ms. Loper possess over 10 years of program management experience across the space enterprise. From 2009 – 2013, she served as the program integrator and segments lead for the U.S. DoD Enhanced Polar Protected SatComm System and returned to SATCOM in the Wideband Program Office in 2016. She joined the U.S. Government as a Presidential Management Fellow 2008 at the Space and Missile System Center in Los Angeles from a 6-year position in Germany, where she managed operations in Kuwait, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq as a support services contractor.
 

Ms Clare Grason

Ms Deanna Ryals

Ms. Deanna L. Ryals is the Chief of the International Programs Division (MCI) within the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate (MC), Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Los Angeles, AFB CA. The division is responsible for providing an enterprisewide approach to jointly acquiring MILSATCOM systems with key international partners and allies and identifiying future opportunities for joint development of capabilities, architectures, policies, and technologies. The US DoD is currently partnering with nine allies across the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) and Advanced Extermely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite programs and is executing eight Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) totaling $2B in international partner contributions.

In 1988, she entered federal government service working for the Army Corps of Engineers. For more than 25 years, she has supported the Department of Defense (DoD) in both civil service and industry.

From 1988 to 2001, Ms. Ryals supported numerous Army and Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) organizations by providing acquisition and financial management support. In 2001, she joined the Secretary of the Air Force (SAF) Space Acquisition Directorate (AQS) monitoring the $10B MILSATCOM terminals acquisition portfolio. In 2007, SAF/AQS established a single focal point for all MILSATCOM international activities, and Ms. Ryals was assigned the lead role. In this role, she supported the development of a MOU with Australia culminating in a $6.2B partnership to expand the WGS constellation to six satellites. Then, in 2010, she served as the acquisition lead for the development of a
multilateral WGS MOU with five partners culminating in a $10.5B partnership (the largest AF International Armaments Cooperative Program for a space capability) expanding the WGS constellation to nine satellites. In 2012, Ms. Ryals became the Program Manager for Acquisition Strategy Development under the Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space Launch (AFPEO/SL) in Chantilly, Virginia. In this role, Ms. Ryals was instrumental in securing DoD Acquisition Executive approval of a new acquisition strategy for future DoD National Security Space (NSS) launches that introduced a competitive environment for all certified U.S. launch service providers. Ms. Ryals rejoined MILSATCOM in January 2013, as the Chief of International Programs.

 

Ms Kay Sears

Kay Sears is the Vice President and General Manager of the Military Space line of business for Lockheed Martin Space. In this capacity, Kay has general management responsibility for critical national security space programs including Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Defense Meteorological Space Program (DMSP), Global Positioning System (GPS), Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS), Space Protection and other Department of Defense space programs.
Previously, Kay was the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development where she was responsible for growing the Space business with a comprehensive strategy to develop new markets and expand core mission areas. She also led strategic planning, advanced technology concepts and new business acquisition efforts for each of the Space lines of business.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Kay served as president of Intelsat General. In this role, Kay was responsible for implementing the company’s strategic and operational plans and for the overall mission of providing a range of sustainable, cost-effective and secure communication solutions to government and commercial customers.
Before joining Intelsat, Kay helped launch government services business units at both G2 Satellite Solutions and Verestar. With nearly three decades of experience, Kay is a respected leader in the space and satellite communications industry and has extensive experience in rapid-response solutions for both military and civil agencies of the U.S. government.
In 2009, Kay was appointed to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee to provide information, technical expertise, advice and guidance regarding issues that may affect national security telecommunications capabilities.
Kay has a B.S. in marketing and economics from the University of Richmond and an MBA in Information Systems from George Washington University.
 

Ms Sandra Erwin

Sandra Erwin writes for SpaceNews about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. 

She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense Magazine and Pentagon correspondent for Real Clear Defense.
 

Ms Tanja Zegers

Rear Admiral (Ret'd) Giovanni Battista Durando

Giovanni joined the IT Navy in 1974, when he was admitted at the NAVAL ACADEMY – Italian Officer Naval School in Livorno. He has obtained his Doctorate and Master Degree in Electronic Engineering, from PISA UNIVERSITY. He retired as Rear Admiral from the IT Navy in 2013 after his full career (including technical, operational and procurement assignments).
He then joined NATO Information and Communication Agency - NCIA - where since 1 January 2016 he is the SATCOM Area Owner. In this role, he is responsible for both the SATCOM Service delivery to NATO Commands and for the developing the new projects for the next 15 years. In this challenging role he is, in particular, responsible for the implementation of the new Satellite Communication Transmissions Services Capability Package (CP 130), that worth about 1.5 B€.
 

Rick Lober

Wing Commander Paul Drysdale

Wing Commander Drysdale joined the New Zealand Army in September 1988 as a Rifleman with 2/1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR). In October 1990 WGCDR Drysdale corps and trade changed to RNZ Signals as a Communications Systems Operator serving in Burnham and Linton Military Camps.
In June 1997, WGCDR Drysdale Service changed to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), graduating as a Communications and Information Systems Officer. In November 1997 he was posted to Flight Commander Air Operations Communications Centre (AOCC) Auckland before deploying to East Timor with 3 SQN in September 1999 as the contingent Communications Officer. In July 2000 he was posted to RNZAF Base Ohakea as the Communications Flight Commander, deploying to OP Antarctica in October 2000 as the Base Services Manager. In June 2003 WGCDR Drysdale was promoted to SQNLDR and posted to Wellington as the Assistant Director Military Communications Policy, HQ NZDF. WGCDR Drysdale’ s next post was to the New Zealand Defence Staff in Washington DC over the period August 2006 to July 2009 as the NZDF representative to the Combined Communication and Electronics Board (CCEB) Washington Staff and CIS Liaison Officer to the Joint Staff J6.
On RTNZ WGCDR Drysdale was posted to CIS Branch as the Assistant Director Military Communications (ADMILCOM) managing the Defence Communications Centre and overseeing the build and deployment of communications systems in support of exercises and operations. In January 2012 WGCDR Drysdale was posted to the Australian Command and Staff College, graduating with a Master of Military of Military Studies from the Australian National University. On return to New Zealand he was posted to the Air Staff and promoted to WGCDR filling the appointment of Director RNZAF Communication and Information Systems (DCIS(F)). In Mar 2016 WGCDR Drysdale was posted to HQ Joint Forces New Zealand as the XO to the Air Component Commander prior to taking up his current post of JSO1 Joint Communications Planning (J6) at HQ JFNZ in July 2016.