Dr. Josef Koller
Dr. Josef Koller is a Systems Director for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy, serving as a senior analyst and team leader on topics that cut across policy, technology, and economics. Prior to joining Aerospace, Dr. Koller served as a Senior Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Space Policy where he directly supported key national and international strategy efforts for space-related U.S. Government and DoD policy matters including commercial remote sensing, space traffic management, and related congressional affairs. Prior to that assignment, Dr. Koller managed and co-lead over 40 scientists in the “Space Science and Applications Group” at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Koller also established and led the Los Alamos Space Weather Summer School to promote graduate student research and outreach at the Laboratory.
Dr. Koller has over 17 years of experience with global security and space science programs. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications with 700 citations. Dr. Koller has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Rice University.
Robert Cardillo
Robert is Chief Strategist and Chairman of the Board at Planet Federal where he is responsible for supporting strategic decision-making for future products and services, driving meaningful partnerships, and increasing the utility of commercial innovations for global government agencies. Robert has a distinguished career as former Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from 2014-2019, where he successfully transformed the Agency’s future value proposition through innovative partnerships with the growing commercial geospatial marketplace. Prior to NGA, Robert served in leadership positions with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. From 2010 to 2014, Robert managed, edited, and delivered the President’s Daily Brief to President Obama and Vice President Biden – over 1400 editions – while also serving on the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council.
David J Gauthier
Mr. Gauthier is the Director of the Source Commercial & Business Operations Group at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). He is responsible for leading the community in discovery, assessment, requirements, and acquisition of commercial GEO INT data, products, and services and manages all business operations for NGA Source. Mr. Gauthier also chairs the IC Commercial Space Council (ICCSC) on behalf of the ODNI. He is a member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service.
Previously at NGA, Mr. Gauthier served as the founding Director of the Office of Strategic Operations (OSO) which developed the NGA Strategy 2025 and launched NGAs transition to more data-driven and digital-native operations. Before that he was Director of Advanced Concepts for the Office of Persistent GEOINT and pioneered automation for model-driven collection. As the NGA lead for Activity-Based Intelligence (ABI) he operationalized automated imagery exploitation and advanced analytic software. On a Joint Duty Assignment for the ODNI in 2009 he founded the IC Green Glow campaign to fuse collection and analysis across 10 separate agencies. Mr. Gauthier has also served as Deputy Technical Executive for NGA Analysis, Chief of the Integrated Mission Support Division at NGA-Denver, and Deputy Director for NGA Operations at NGA-Denver.
Prior to serving with NGA, Mr. Gauthier worked for the Riverside Research Institute where he focused on future requirements for OPIR ground and space systems, operationalized real-time ground processing systems, and codified the persistent collection philosophy. As a U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer Mr. Gauthier led multiple intelligence operations using human, ground, air, and space-based technical collection. He conducted all-source analysis and collection management for HQ EUCOM, served as a Satellite Payload Director and InfraRed Operations Manager for DIA, and was an Information Operations Watch Officer for SIGINT missions on the Korean peninsula.
Mr. Gauthier has Masters of Science degrees in both Aerospace Engineering and Telecommunications Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In addition, Mr. Gauthier earned a Graduate Certificate in Management & Leadership from the University of Colorado and an Executive Certificate in Management & Leadership from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is a graduate of both the DoD APEX and ODNI Leading the IC programs.
Mr. Gauthier lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Krista and two daughters.
Dan Katz
Peter Platzer
Peter Platzer co-founded Spire in 2012 with a vision to provide satellite-powered data solutions
to problems on earth. The company’s audacious goal is to double global GDP growth by eliminating the negative economic impact from inaccurate weather forecasts in the era of Climate Change. Platzer is now regarded as one of the pioneers in launching small form factor satellites into space and was named by President Obama a
White House Champion of Change in 2013.
Prior to launching Spire, Peter trained at CERN and the Max Planck Institute before turning to business with the Boston Consulting Group in
Europe and Asia, and serving as a quantitative investment manager for almost a decade on Wall Street.
Peter received an M.S. in Physics from the Technical University of Vienna, an M.B.A. from Harvard, where he was a Baker scholar, and an MSc cum laude in Space Science from ISU Strasbourg. He also serves as a Career Coach at Harvard Business School. His publications and patents span Computational Physics, Nano-satellite Technologies, and climate change adaptation. He currently lives happily in Luxembourg with his wife Theresa, daughters Alex and Asta, and cats Wolferl and Nannerl.
Nicole Robinson
Nicole Robinson is the President of Ursa Space Systems, a leading satellite intelligence and data analytics provider leveraging a global virtual constellation of +200 SAR, earth observation and RF satellites. In her role, she is responsible for taking the company from a start up to a scale up in accelerating the companies growth globally while optimizing operations. Ms. Robinson also serves as the President of Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), the largest professional organization in the space and satellite community.
Prior to joining Ursa Space, Ms. Robinson was the Senior Vice President of Global Government for SES, the largest commercial satellite operator in the world. In her role at SES, she was responsible for the company’s global business portfolio of government customers in the areas of defense, security, humanitarian, federal, civilian and institutional organizations. Additionally, she served in a variety of Board level positions for SES including Chairman of the Board of Redu Space Services, Director of the LuxGovSat Board of Directors and former Managing Director and CEO of SES Techcom Services, Inc. Prior to joining SES, she served as the leader of the Strategic Communications function for the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ) with General Dynamics as well as the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
Ms. Robinson is known in the satellite industry for serving in a variety of leadership positions including two terms as Chair of the Hosted Payload Alliance as well as Vice Chair, Board level positions for the Washington Space Business Roundtable, SSPI and others. She was the recipient of the 2012 Future Leaders Award by the Society of Satellite Professionals International and is a member of “The FEW,” an invitation-only assembly of senior executive women.
Ms. Robinson is certified in Federal Financial Management by the Federal Training Center, completed her bachelor’s degree in Communications at Radford University, earned an MBA from Liberty University, and is a graduate of the Senior Executives in National and International Security Program at Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.