Phil Carrai
Phil Carrai is President of the Space, Training and Cybersecurity division of Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc, where he is responsible for all aspects of business operations, sales, mergers and acquisitions. Kratos Defense is an approximately $650 million public company focusing in Aerospace and Defense products and services.
Kratos Space, Training and Cybersecurity provides products for satellite signal processing, testing, communications, cybersecurity, in addition to training and simulation products and services. Phil led the acquisitions of DEI (2010), Integral Systems (2011), SecureInfo (2011), BSC (2014) and the integration that followed which transformed the group to be a major provider of specialized products and related services to global commercial and government customers. Previously, he was the CEO of Ai Metrix, a telecommunications software company focused in the defense and commercial markets, which was sold to Kratos Defense in 2006.
He is a former Managing Director for the Morino Group and Special Advisor to General Atlantic, Inc. During that period, he served as the Executive Chairman for US mobile media leader Ztango until its sale to Widerthan.com (now part of Real Networks), and an active board member for Internosis, a commercial and federal services provider, until its sale to EMC.
Phil also was the CEO of McCabe and Associates, a testing and analysis software company, growing revenues during his tenure, and remained with the company as Chairman until its sale to a private equity firm. Between 1989 and 1996, Phil held a number of executive positions at Legent, including Vice President and General Manager of its $200 million Resource Management business unit, where he managed or was directly involved in numerous product launches, channel and international expansions, new product development, and mergers and acquisitions, including the merger with Computer Associates. Phil began his career as a systems analyst/programmer for Alcoa.
Phil currently serves as a board member for Network Alliance and is the President of the Alumni Board for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from IUP in 1983 majoring in Information Science and Accounting, where he is a University Distinguished Alumni and a member of the Eberly Business Hall of Distinction, and received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in 1989.
Dan Adams
Dan Adams is Head of Business Development and Sales for KSAT Inc. at Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT). Prior to joining KSAT, Dan previously led business development for civil space programs at United Launch Alliance (ULA). A space enthusiast, Dan is energized by the mission and the positive impacts space enables in our everyday lives.
KSAT is a world-leading provider of ground station services for satellites, rocket launchers, and experimental spacecraft. With over 50 years of experience, KSAT’s network today spans over 180 antennas at over 20 ground station locations across the globe (including Pole to Pole coverage from Antarctica to the Arctic) and is constantly expanding. KSAT is proud to be the behind-the-scenes bridge back to earth, supporting the vast majority of space companies, agencies, and start-ups.
Brad Bode
Brad brings over 20 years of software development experience in the aerospace industry to the ATLAS Space Operations team. He has designed, developed, tested, and deployed satellite command and control, mission planning, and data management applications throughout his career. Brad has led ATLAS’ initiative to fully integrate our Freedom Software™ with both ViaSat RTE and AWS Ground. Hence, expanding our globally federated network to 50 antennas in 20 Countries. Additionally, as the architect and visionary behind Freedom Ground Software as a Service™, Brad is responsible for hundreds of thousands of satellite passes and terabytes of data collected. He holds an MS in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University.
Daniel Gizinski
Daniel Gizinski is the Chief Strategy Officer at Comtech. In his current role, Daniel is focused on creating comprehensive strategies and developing innovative technologies that will help ensure the U.S. Department of Defense and coalition forces maintain a strategic advantage across today’s information dominant battlespace. Daniel collaborates with teams across the enterprise to develop cutting-edge, integrated solutions that address the most challenging mission needs of today while anticipating capabilities that will be needed in the future.
During his tenure with Comtech, Daniel has held multiple senior management and leadership positions including serving as the President of Comtech Satellite Network Technologies, Inc. and holding a position as Vice President of Product and Strategy for Comtech Systems, Inc. Prior to joining Comtech in 2019, Daniel held program management and leadership positions at General Electric, Sierra Nevada Corporation and L3Harris Technologies.
Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree from Duke University.
Ian Jones
Ian Jones is the founder, CEO and significant shareholder of Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd. He is a satellite communications engineer and entrepreneur with over 35 years’ experience in the industry with a background in digital satellite communications systems, RF design, earth station development and operations.
He graduated from Leeds University in 1985 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He developed new Digital Signal Processing satellite modems at BT Research Labs and Communication Systems Research Ltd (CSRL), leading the design of the Inmarsat Aero communication system. When CSRL was acquired by Ferranti International, Ian was promoted to Head of Satellite Engineering and subsequently Head of Business Development within the Ferranti Computer Systems Division.
In 1994 he co-founded Orbit Research Ltd where he was Managing Director and 50% shareholder. Ian was responsible for a number of innovations and new product designs for satellite communication systems including remote control monitoring systems for satellite earth stations.
In 2008 he founded Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd and built a successful, profitable business leasing the antennas at Goonhilly from BT and bringing them back into service. In January 2014, Ian led the team completing the successful acquisition of Goonhilly.
Ian’s vision for a sustainable, profitable and diverse business at Goonhilly is rapidly taking shape with a growing client base covering all aspects of commercial satellite communications, deep space communication and space domain awareness. In November 2023, Goonhilly completed its acquisition of Comsat adding Southbury and Santa Paula teleports to its portfolio.
Jonathan Luminati
Dr. Jon Luminati is the Senior Vice President and Deputy for the Labs Sector at BlueHalo. In this role he works to align diverse technology roadmaps and program execution plans with corporate strategy and customer needs across a workforce of more than 500 people. He is also leading the stand-up of BlueHalo’s Centers of Excellence business unit, bringing a unified approach to program management, engineering, and manufacturing across the sector’s program and product development efforts. These efforts span multiple capability areas including space, counter-UAS, autonomous systems, cyber, and AI/ML.
Dr. Luminati was previously the Director of Technical Program Management in BlueHalo’s Advanced RF Systems Division focused on developing and delivering ground-based phased array systems supporting satellite command and control and other mission areas.
Prior to joining BlueHalo, Jon served as a Colonel in the United States Air Force with a career spanning engineering, program management, and operations in space, intelligence, and missile defense. In his final active-duty assignment, he led the Integrated Experiments and Evaluations Division in the Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). In this role, he led the conceptualization, acquisition, and operations of a $1B+ portfolio of AFRL’s on-orbit satellite experiments including numerous small satellite programs.
He holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology where he studied synthetic aperture radar waveform design and processing. He also holds master’s degrees from Cornell University, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Eisenhower School.
Ramesh Ramaswamy
Ramesh Ramaswamy leads the International Division at EchoStar, including the Hughes Network Systems international services and system sales, global subsidiaries, mobile satellite system sales, and EchoStar Mobile Limited operations in Europe. Prior to his current position, Mr. Ramaswamy served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Hughes international division, providing satellite broadband equipment and services for network operators, enterprises and consumers outside the United States both directly and through subsidiaries in Europe, India and Brazil.
Mr. Ramaswamy started his career at Hughes as a software engineer and has held increasingly senior positions in engineering, operations, marketing and sales.
Mr. Ramaswamy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Madras in India and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, Arlington.