OPTICAL COMMS FOR SMALLSAT DATA RELAY

Noel Rimalovski is a Managing Director at GH Partners, an independent New York-based investment banking firm. Mr. Rimalovski leads the firm’s representation of mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, debt financings, and strategic advisory services to domestic and international clients. At GH, Mr. Rimalovski specializes in the telecom, media, technology, space and defense sectors.

Prior to joining GH, Mr. Rimalovski was with Macquarie Capital, Wasserstein Perella, and Lazard Frères.

Mr. Rimalovski graduated from Tufts College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Robert J. Conrad is the President of Kepler Communications U.S., a company building Internet connectivity for space. Robert will lead Kepler U.S. as the company builds a high-performing team to expand its optical data relay network to serve the U.S. government market. Throughout a 30-year career, he has led over $1 billion in sales supporting ground and space systems for the U.S. government and commercial space industry. Conrad is a seasoned business development, strategy, and operational executive with decades of experience in the aerospace sector, driving organizational growth and profitability. He has served in many executive leadership roles ranging from vice president, chief operations officer, and chief executive officer. He has extensive expertise in building high-performance teams to manage complex systems. Robert earned his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in RF & Satellite Communications and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Capitol College. He holds a U.S. Patent on a wide band continuously tunable satellite QPSK transceiver.

Jeff Huggins is an aerospace and defense sector expert, growth leader and President of the U.S. arm of Cailabs, a global company and leading player in laser communications.

After leaving behind a distinguished career as a Naval Intelligence Officer, during which he focused on national overhead and intelligence systems, Jeff moved into the private sector, where he held senior roles at several major companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries North America and Raytheon. He led the expansion of an established $24 million company, driving it to more than $40 million in value between 2016 and 2020, and served as the CEO and Chairman of the Board of the U.S. classified aerospace wing of Safran. Safran, a major French aviation company, is the second-largest aircraft equipment manufacturer in the world.

Jeff, who also worked as a presidential appointee in the State Department, holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the Darden School of business at the University of Virginia with additional graduate studies at the Naval War College and the Naval Postgraduate School.

He is considered an expert in combining the creative applications of tech, people and solutions to grow companies. At Cailabs, he is driving growth in the U.S. to meet rising demand from the defense and commercial sectors.

Since 2019 TESAT Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for Sales & Marketing, Product Management, Strategy and Communications for the complete product portfolio including RF- and Laser products.
2002-2019 several management positions in operational Sales & Marketing at Airbus (former EADS) in the defence and space business, as well as the international Sales, Marketing and Strategy organization at the Paris HQ.
1993-2002 several Key Account Manager and Sales Management Position in the terrestrial telecommunication business.
Master Degree in electrical engineering from the German Air Force University and Executive MBA from Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.

Ankit Rohatgi is currently working as Director of Business Development at Swedish Space Corporation, focussing on Ground Station as a Service solution. Prior to working on GSaaS, he has worked in different aspects of satellite comminications such as in-flight connectivity, cellular backhaul, maritime, community wi-fi and humanitarian aid, at companies such as Panasonic Avionics, Facebook and Ericsson. He has traveled to over 60 countries. He has an MSEE and an MBA from University of Texas.

Dr. Jordan Vannitsen is the CEO and co-founder of Odysseus Space, a leading company in space-to-ground laser communication for Earth observation constellations. With its Cyclops™ Laser Communication as a Service (LCaaS™) solution, Odysseus is simplifying access to high-speed connectivity for small satellite operators.

With over 15 years in the space sector, Dr. Vannitsen has turned innovative ideas into operational missions, including his work on 11 satellites which were successfully launched and operated in space. A recipient of ESA’s Teamwork Excellence Award, he contributed to the historic launch of 7 small satellites on Vega’s maiden flight.

Holding a PhD from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, Dr. Vannitsen now leads Odysseus Space in advancing fast and secure communication across space and Earth.