Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023
[powerkit_button size=”lg” style=”primary” block=”false” url=”https://washingtonexec.com/2023/05/top-space-execs-to-watch-in-2023/2″ target=”_self” nofollow=”false”] View Top Space Execs [/powerkit_button] Space exploration is soaring to new heights. In 2023, Congress allocated $25.4 billion to NASA, a 5.6% increase from the previous year. Additionally, lawmakers gave the green light to a $26.3 billion budget for the U.S. Space Force. Recognizing that exploring the vast
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Lockheed Martin Space’s Stacy Kubicek
Stacy Kubicek Vice President and General Manager, Mission Solutions, Lockheed Martin Space Stacy Kubicek’s team has a legacy of being thought leaders within the industry, using AI/ML to advance sense-making and other operator analytic capabilities, while continually looking for ways to leverage technologies and subject matter expertise in new critical mission areas. One of the
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Airbus U.S. Space & Defense’s Debra Facktor
Debra Facktor Head of Airbus U.S. Space Systems, Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. As head of Airbus U.S. Space Systems, Debra Facktor’s biggest accomplishment was growing the Airbus U.S. space line of business over the past three years. “We are building out our space team as well as the engineering, supply chain, finance and
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: ASRC Federal’s Scott Altman
Scott “Scooter” Altman President, Space Operating Group, ASRC Federal Last November’s Artemis I launch was a major milestone for Scott Altman and his team. Since 2012, over 200 ASRC Federal team members have worked alongside Lockheed Martin and NASA teams to assemble, test, integrate and produce the Orion Spacecraft, the Space Launch System and ground
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: LMI’s Zac Gorrell
Zac Gorrell Vice President of the Space Market, LMI Zac Gorrell’s biggest recent achievement was leading his prior company, Synaptech, through the acquisition process during 2022 and facilitating the successful integration into LMI during the first half of this year. As the CEO and cofounder of Synaptech, Gorrell built the company from the ground up,
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: SAIC’s David Ray
David Ray Senior Vice President, Space Business Unit, National Security and Space Sector, SAIC SAIC has a storied history with space, and the past year has opened a new chapter for the company in tackling challenges in new ways. Best known for systems engineering and technical assistance work, a few years ago, SAIC began investing
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Peraton’s Mark Jahshan
Mark Jahshan Vice President and General Manager, Civil Space Business Unit, Space & Intelligence Sector, Peraton Last year, Mark Jahshan and his team faced a significant challenge ⏤ identifying which legacy processes were working and what enhanced capabilities, workforce and agility were required to enable the future of space communications across 2 million kilometers. “It’s
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Infoscitex’s Michael Gilkey
Michael Gilkey Executive Vice President and Manager, Air and Space Technologies Sector, Infoscitex, a DCS Corp. Under Michael Gilkey’s leadership, Infoscitex recently won Air Force Research Laboratory prime contracts, establishing a lead role in weapon systems effectiveness analysis across air, space, ground and surface domains through the modeling of synthetic environments and application of battlespace
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Northrop Grumman Space Systems’ Tom Wilson
Tom Wilson Corporate Vice President and President of Northrop Grumman Space Systems Tom Wilson has been president of a fast-growing sector at Northrop Grumman Space Systems since 2022. Space Systems sector is the world’s largest, most diverse space business and is shaping the future of a dynamic and rapidly changing domain. Last year, Northrop Grumman’s
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: DOD’s John F. Plumb
John F. Plumb Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, DOD John F. Plumb is the first assistant secretary of defense for space policy, confirmed in March 2022. He is responsible for overseeing DOD policy for space warfighting. Plumb also serves as the principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense. Plumb’s policy portfolio includes
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Space Development Agency’s Derek Tournear
Derek Tournear Director, Space Development Agency The Space Development Agency was created to unify and integrate the Defense Department’s space development efforts, monitor the future space architecture and accelerate the development of new military space capabilities. As director, Derek Tournear has extensive experience in space development, having held leadership positions in government and industry. He
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Space Force’s Gen. B. Chance Saltzman
Gen. B. Chance Saltzman Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force As chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman is responsible for organizing, training and equipping all space forces in the U.S. and abroad. He is among the service chiefs who serve as military advisers to the secretary of
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: The Aerospace Corp.’s Ronald J. Birk
Ronald J. Birk Associate Principal Director, Development Directorate, The Aerospace Corp. Ronald Birk joined The Aerospace Corp. in 2017 and today provides strategic, technical and managerial guidance to development activities for emerging drivers and national priorities to advance future space capabilities. “The complex challenges we face in space require that many organizations and people within
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Sigmatech’s J.R. Riordan
John “J.R.” Riordan Strategic Programs Advisor to the Vice Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force; Senior Advisor supporting Sigmatech, Inc./Washington, D.C. Operations J.R. Riordan’s achievements include supporting the U.S. Space Force in its responsibility for organizing, training and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations at Sigmatech, Inc. This mission enhances the way joint
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: HII’s Mission Technologies’ Ken Bray
Ken Bray Business Development Manager, HII’s Mission Technologies Ken Bray’s recent notable achievement is developing a strategy to take HII’s space business to the next level. HII invests in and develops leading-edge technologies to support space-based operations and protect space assets. Shaping and influencing HII’s strategic focus is both challenging and rewarding, and he looks
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: SpiderOak Mission Systems’ John Moberly
John Moberly Senior Vice President for Space, SpiderOak Mission Systems The biggest threat to space architectures is non-kinetic cyber attacks, and for SpiderOak’s John Moberly leading the “birth to grave” vertical of providing secure and trusted data orchestration for space-enabled architectures, addressing this threat is about a strategy around the fully decentralized software capabilities of
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Viasat’s Bruce Cathell
Bruce Cathell Vice President of Government Operations, Viasat As vice president of government operations for Viasat, Bruce Cathell is the principal senior executive interfacing to the U.S. government and leads all aspects of Viasat’s defense and aerospace operations in the Washington, D.C., area. In this capacity, Cathell provides strategic, technical, policy, regulatory, budgetary and trade
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: CACI’s Dr. Linda Braun
Dr. Linda Braun Vice President and General Manager, Optical and Photonics Systems, CACI Dr. Linda Braun has dedicated her 30-year career to unlocking the mysteries and opportunities for deploying technology in space to enhance our national security. She leads a portfolio that includes transformative technology and advanced manufacturing in laser communications for missions ranging from national
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Booz Allen’s Chris Bogdan
Chris Bogdan Executive Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton Chris Bogdan was selected in February to lead the further development and execution of Booz Allen’s space business. He has since revitalized this business through a new strategy that brings together work across the defense and civilian space missions, including the Space Force, Air Force and DOD
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: AWS’ Clint Crosier
Clint Crosier Director, Aerospace and Satellite Solutions, Amazon Web Services Under Clint Crosier’s leadership, his team conducted two first-of-kind on-orbit demonstrations in 2022 that helped show the value cloud can provide to space customers. Last summer, they also sent an AWS edge computing device called a “Snowcone” to the International Space Station. The device used
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Microsoft’s Steve Kitay
Steve Kitay Senior Director, Azure Space, Microsoft The Azure Space team has built new products and launched new partnerships to support customers with cloud and space technologies. Microsoft Azure Space is committed to enabling every person and organization to achieve more, on and off the planet. This mission has transcended various industries, including agriculture, finance,
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Parsons’ Heidi Wright
Heidi Wright Vice President of Space Solutions, Parsons Corp. This year, Parsons continued delivering on legacy contracts and developing state-of-the-art capabilities while establishing the foundation of its ops-as-as-service business model, which provides customers with affordable, operationally ready, off-the-shelf solutions for their space mission requirements. With the Space Force exploring more commercial offerings, Parsons is ahead
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Raytheon Intelligence & Space’s David Broadbent
David Broadbent President of Space & C2 Systems, Raytheon Intelligence & Space David Broadbent’s role involves overseeing the development and implementation of state-of-the-art space solutions that support a wide range of critical missions. S&C2 provides cutting-edge space solutions that support essential missions, such as missile warning, intelligence gathering, weather monitoring and navigation. Broadbent and his
Top Space Execs to Watch in 2023: Maxar Technologies’ Todd Ham
Todd Ham Vice President and General Manager, Defense and Space Programs, Public Sector Earth Intelligence, Maxar Technologies Todd Ham recently took on his new role within Maxar leading the combined Defense and Space Programs team and is heavily focused on what lies in the future. “In my engineering days I was ⏤ and still am
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