Biographies

Lorenzo Arona

Senior Manager Flight Dynamics, Avanti

Lorenzo is a Senior Manager in the Spacecraft Operations department of Avanti Communications, where he leads the team responsible for Flight Dynamics and Space Traffic Coordination, and he is the company delegate for Space Safety & Sustainability matters.
Lorenzo has more than 15 years of experience in satellite operations across the European Space Agency and Avanti Communications. There, he set up the company Spacecraft Operations Centre, then turned it from a cost centre into a revenue-generating department by implementing spacecraft operations as a service. His daily job includes coordinating a multidisciplinary team responsible for the realization of revenues coming from satellite short-term lease, and managing the related operational and financial risks.
Lorenzo is a UK Space Agency (UKSA) delegate at the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) and has been a director of the Space Data Association (SDA).

Marc Benhamou

Senior Director, Spacecraft Programs, Viasat+Inmarsat

Since 2014, I am in charge of Satellite procurement and program execution for Inmarsat, as well as launcher procurement. In the frame of these programs, I have worked with most of the major satellite manufacturers (Boeing Space System for Inmarsat Global Express 4, Thales Alenia Space for S-band and GX5, Airbus Defence and Space for Inmarsat 6 and GX 7/8/9), as well as major launcher manufacturers (Arianespace, SpaceX, MHI…). I am also following the launcher evolutions and market. In the current period, my main activity is GX7, 8 and 9 procurement as first Airbus Defence and Space Onesat product customer.
Before Inmarsat, I spent most of my career in Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France, working mostly on geostationary satellites, on different positions like Chief Engineer, Program Manager, Bid manager, and Product line Manager, in charge of global G/O Satellite Strategy.

I am Member of Académie de L’Air et de l’Espace (AAE) since 2020.

Denis Bensoussan

Head of Space, Beazley Insurance

Denis Bensoussan joined Beazley in March 2014 from Hiscox, where, as senior underwriter for space risks, he managed the global satellite risks account.

Prior to joining Hiscox, a Lloyd’s of London Syndicate in 2006, Denis worked for Marsh Aerospace department. He also worked at aerospace positions at the European Space Agency, the United Nations and the European Commission. With more than 20 years experience in the aerospace sector, Denis possesses deep knowledge of the risks the satellite industry confront.

Denis holds a post-graduate degree in Air & Space Law from McGill University (Montreal) and has also obtained space systems engineering training from Southampton University, Supaero Paris and Hult University.

Denis has contributed as risks management adviser to various Consortiums led by Airbus Defense and Space. He was also the Chairman of the last World Space Risk/Seradata Forum (WSRF) in June 2017 in London, is a member of the Insurance Institute of London Aviation Committee and regularly gives speeches on Space risks management and insurance affairs.

Sophie Bywater

Project & Services Director, Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL)

Sophie studied at Birmingham University where I achieved first degrees in Engineering and in Business Management prior to joining Airbus in 2004. Sophie spent ten years working for Airbus Defence & Space moving between several UK sites, gaining a holistic view of the company as well as becoming a chartered engineer, six sigma black belt and chartered project manager.

Sophie joined SSTL in 2014 as a senior project manager and was immediately asked to become a subcontract manager on Galileo – she has always been happy to get stuck in and working to navigate the TAS impasse was great experience. After that, one thing led to another and before long she was managing Galileo whole programme. Time does fly and she has now been at SSTL nearly ten years – currently working as Director of Projects and Services and hugely enjoying getting to know all aspects of the wider company and trying to help wherever possible.

Caleb Henry

Director of Research, Quilty Analytics

Caleb Henry is the Director of Research at Quilty Analytics, a boutique research firm focused on the satellite and space industry. He previously worked as a journalist for SpaceNews and Via Satellite, where he wrote about the commercial space sector for global audiences.

Caleb plays a lead role in guiding research projects, including speaking with industry executives, maintaining databases and writing reports. He is a frequent panel moderator at industry conferences, podcast guest, industry commentator and source for multiple media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters, Quartz, and the New York Times.

Peter Elson

Chief Executive Officer, Arthur J Gallagher

Peter Elson is the Chief Executive of the Gallagher Aerospace arm of the insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher since 2019. He previously held the post of Chief Executive of JLT Aerospace. There Peter helped create one of the industry’s leading aerospace insurance brokers including a well-established space risks team and led its transition to Gallagher Aerospace after a planned merger with Marsh was prevented by competition issues.

Peter began his career at Leslie & Godwin in 1985. After an intervening year at Crawley Warren, Peter returned to his former employer in 1994 – by then part of the Aon Group – where he performed roles including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Managing Director. During the course of his career Peter has worked with most of the world’s leading spacecraft operators, space agencies and rocket launch service providers, as well as with airlines and aerospace manufacturers.

Peter holds a degree in Economics and Politics from the University of York. Peter’s educational and advisory roles include chairing an advisory board for his university alma mater’s business school and serving on one monitoring a UK prison. Peter Elson is also a visiting lecturer at the International Space University and at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Peter Elson is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has charitable involvements fighting for the end of human trafficking and slavery.

Devin Fairbanks

Senior Vice President, Starr Aviation Pty Ltd

Devin Fairbanks launched her career in the Space Insurance business in 1998 when she started employment at XL Aerospace (Brock bank Syndicate/ XL Mid Ocean). She has a BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and a MPA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, where she focused on International Public Administration, specializing in Central & South America. Devin has been a licensed Casualty and Property Broker-Agent since 2005 and is licensed is all 50 states. She has been involved in the Space Insurance business for over 25 years and continues to build effective working relationships with all major international Space Insurance brokers as well as global clientele. As an underwriter for Starr Aviation since fall of 2005, she has been instrumental in structuring a profitable book of Space business and in October 2019 was promoted to the position of SVP.

Neil Fleming

Specialist Risk Analyst, Ascot Underwriting Ltd

Neil’s current role is as the Space Risk Analyst at Ascot, a large underwriter in Lloyds. His background covers a diverse range of roles, including flying in the RAF, an imagery and intelligence analyst as well as quantitative model creation. He has worked with Space insurance since 2005 but has also produced models to evaluate the risks for UK property (both primary & reinsurance), mining, power generation (wind, fossil fuel and solar) and General Aviation. He holds engineering master’s degrees from both Churchill College, Cambridge and Clemson University and an MBA from Said Business School, Oxford.

Jean-Luc Froeliger

Sr. Vice President, Intelsat Space Systems

Jean-Luc Froeliger oversees the procurement, launch, engineering and operation of the Intelsat Space Segment, comprising of more than 50 geostationary satellites. He is also responsible for Engineering and Operation of the 3rd party satellites that Intelsat operates.
He has been with Intelsat for over 30 years, serving in a variety of technical and leadership roles related to the Intelsat Space Segment.
Jean-Luc holds a Master in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT

Pascal Lecointe

Head of Space and Paris Branch, Hiscox

Pascal Lecointe is Line Underwriter for Hiscox and manages Hiscox Space Insurance department, based in Paris, since 2010. Pascal joined Hiscox London in 2001 as space risks analyst. In 2005 he moved to Paris to underwrite space and contract frustration – export credit guarantee risks. Prior to this, he had spent 6 years as satellite power and electrical systems architect in the space engineering division of Aéropsatiale (now Thales Alenia Space). He was involved in geostationary telecom satellites projects and subsequently on 2 satellite constellation projects. Pascal holds a MSc in engineering from Ecole Centrale Marseille (1992) and a MSc in electrical engineering from Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité (1994). He also received a post graduate degree in insurance from the Centre des Hautes Etudes d’Assurance (Paris) in 2008.Pascal is currently Chairman of the International Union of Aerospace Insurers Space Risks Study Group and is a member of Lloyd’s Market Association and FFSA Space committees.

Belinda Marchand

Chief Scientist, Slingshot Aerospace

Dr Belinda Marchand is the Chief Scientist at Slingshot Aerospace. In this role she leads a team of researchers involved in space domain awareness, space sustainability, astrodynamics, signals modelling, and the applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence to the space domain. Dr Marchard holds a concurrent appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and is the founder of Progalaxia, LLC.

Dr Marchand has previously served in several academic and senior engineering roles including being Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Austin. She was also a senior member of the technical staff at Decisive Analytics Corporation (DAC), The Aerospace Corporation, and The Applied Physics Laboratory. Her early career began at The Boeing Company, formerly McDonnell Douglas Aerospace.

Dr Marchand is a well-known expert within the astrodynamics community and has led multiple projects in areas including spacecraft mission design, autonomous path planning and guidance, space situational awareness and flight software development. Her past research efforts have been sponsored by NASA Johnson Space Center, the Missile Defense Agency, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and she has supported missions and programmes including: NASA’s Orion, Genesis, the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP), the Micro-Arcsecond X-Ray Interferometry Mission (MAXIM), Stellar Imager (SI), and Constellation X (Con-X).

Clay Mowry

Chief Revenue Officer, Voyager Space

Clay Mowry has worked for over 30 years in the commercial launch and satellite sectors. He is currently Chief Revenue Officer at the space innovations company, Voyager Space, which is currently developing a commercial space station called Starlab.
Clay Mowry previously served as Vice President for Global Sales at Blue Origin which is building the reusable New Glenn orbital rocket and is operating the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle. Prior to this, he worked for 15 years as the President and Chairman of Arianespace, Inc., the US subsidiary of Arianespace.
Before joining Arianespace, Mr. Mowry was the founding Executive Director of the Satellite Industry Association, and was a space industry analyst and negotiator with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.
Clay Mowry is a former President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), and is involved in several non-profit organisations dedicated to the space education and the career development of young professionals.
Clay Mowry holds a Master of Business of Administration (MBA) from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Arts in politics and government from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.

Yamin Mustafa

Managing Director, Marsh

Yamin Mustafa was appointed Managing Director of MSP leading the London Space team in 2001. He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute (ACII) and a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute (FCII) with 40 years of experience in the industry.

He has served as an Account Executive for a wide variety of Global customers from single satellite start-ups to global fleet satellite operators. He has deep historical relationships with insurers across all space classes; AIT, Prelaunch, Launch and TPL. He also has a complete spectrum of experience involving technical, international placements, contract analysis and insurance policy wordings.

Among notable achievements are introducing Vertical Marketing to the satellite insurance industry; creating and implementing innovative coverage design(s) for both GEO’s and LEO’s including constellations and imaging satellites; and placing the first ever Launch and multi-year insurance policy written by the space insurance market. Additionally, he was successful in collecting from insurers a geo comms launch claim (within 28 days of the loss) in excess of USD300M before the formal anomaly report issued by the Launch Failure Oversight Board. Overall, he has represented the interests of a wide range of stakeholders in the space sector and has developed a reputation as an innovator and deal facilitator.

Morten Pahle

Managing Director, Aesir space

Born in Norway, Morten spent the formative years of his life in Rotterdam and subsequently studied in the UK. This ultimately gave him a B.Eng. with Honours in Aeronautical Engineering and an M.Sc. in Statistics and Reliability from the City University in London.

He started his career in the space industry more than 25 years ago as a Reliability and Safety Engineer on a series of meteorological satellites – all of which are still in orbit.
His final role in industry was Group Risk and Insurance Manager at Astrium Satellites (now Airbus).

As an insurer, he has held various underwriting roles covering Space, Aviation and Property. In 2012 he founded ViVet, which became one of the leading London Space insurers.

In the end of 2018 he joined Volante Global, establishing Aesir space with the aim of developing a new set of insurance products for the nascent New Space community.

In his spare time he flies light aircraft (sometimes upside down), enjoys cryptic crosswords and looks after bees. He is passionate about aerospace technology and enjoys what he does.

Richard Parker

Head of Space, Canopius

Richard has 36+ years of experience in the space industry and is currently Head of Space at Canopius. As one of the market-leading insurance companies, Canopius specialise in worldwide insurance and specialist underwriting services.
Prior to joining Canopius, Richard ran Assure Space, an insurance underwriting agency he founded in 2011. Assure Space was the largest US space insurer and was acquired by Amtrust in 2016.
Richard previously served as the Senior Underwriter for AXA Space, where he was responsible for the technical aspects of all space underwriting activities, rate analysis and calculation as well as policy negotiation, claim evaluation, and portfolio management.
Richard spent over 18 years with satellite manufacturer EADS Astrium (now Airbus) and satellite operator Intelsat.  His responsibilities ranged from payload integration to contract management for spacecraft and launch vehicles.  He has broad experience in the design, manufacture and test of satellites, and has extensive knowledge of the business and financial aspects of commercial telecommunications satellites.
Richard has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Engineering, both from the University of Hertfordshire, UK.  He also has an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. Richard has lived in the US for over 20 years and is currently based in California.

Mark Quinn

Chief Executive Officer, WTW

Mark Quinn is CEO of WTW Global Inspace, responsible for all aspects of the Inspace business worldwide, while maintaining personal responsibility for the North American book of business.

During Mark’s 27-year career at Inspace (and 33 years in the space insurance sector), Mark has been a major figure in shaping and maintaining the successful Inspace business and advises companies active in all aspects of the space industry. He has extensive experience in bringing new technology and coverage criteria to the market and has settled numerous, difficult claims. He uses his broad industry knowledge to advise companies in defining commercial opportunities, identifying project participants and partners and implementing commercially practical solutions in an industry marked by continuous change.

Mark began his space insurance career in 1990 at a leading space insurer and transferred to the brokerage side of the business in 1994, before joining Inspace in 1996.

Simon Reid

Managing Director, D-Orbit (UK)

Simon Reid is Managing Director of the UK branch of D-Orbit, where he is responsible for leading D-Orbit’s business and technology development in the UK.

Simon is a business and technical manager with a solid information technology background and 30 years of experience in the space industry, developing system architecture and operational software systems for clients such as European Space Agency, Eumetsat, Eutelsat, Galileo & the UK Space Agency.

Simon joined D-Orbit in mid-2019 because, in his words, “D-Orbit is a truly interdisciplinary space company with capabilities that cover the whole lifetime of a space mission.” His goal is to contribute to the growth of the UK space industry by identifying and pursuing its untapped potential.

Russell Sawyer

Senior Partner, Piiq

Russell is a Senior Partner in the Piiq Space and Aviation team. He is responsible for nurturing Piiq’s relationships with Space both established and new clients.
Before joining Piiq, Russell was an Executive Director at Willis Towers Watson (“WTW”) for 29 years. Russell’s role there was to manage WTW’s relationships with both satellite manufacture and satellite operation clients in the UK and in Asia.

Russell began his insurance career developing and negotiating policy wordings and coverage issues and continued to put this skill to good use for the benefit of WTW’s worldwide clients.
Russell joined Piiq in March 2021.

Peter de Selding

 Co-founder / Editor, SpaceIntelReport

Peter B. de Selding is Co-Founder and Editor of SpaceIntelReport.com. He started SpaceIntelReport in 2017 after 26 years as the Paris Bureau Chief for SpaceNews where he covered the commercial satellite, launch and the international space businesses. Follow Peter @pbdes

Luigi Scatteia

Partner – Space Practice Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory

Luigi is a Partner in PwC Advisory France. Within PwC he leads the Space Practice worldwide, and core space strategy consulting team based in Paris and Toulouse, focused on serving institutional and commercial stakeholders in the space sector, as well as non-space companies with specific commercial interest in space products and applications. He has 22 years of experience in the space sector and he has extensively supported the Space Industry, Space Agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and governments in Europe and Worldwide. He is a member of the International Astronautical Federation Technical Committee (chair of the IAF Space Economy Committee), and a regular keynote and panel speaker at space-related events worldwide.

Rob Schenone

Head of Space North America, AXA XL

Rob is the Head of US Space for AXA XL and has been a space underwriter with AXA XL since 2011. Prior to joining AXA XL, Rob was Head of US for Sciemus LLC and prior to that was a Managing Director at Marsh USA and ran their US space practice. Rob also has experience at ACE Bermuda and has served in other roles at Marsh USA, including COO of Marsh USA Aerospace.

Rob has a total of 32 years’ experience in space insurance and is recognized as a policy wording expert. Rob also serves on the IUAI Board of Directors.

Manny Shar

Managing Director UK, Orbit Fab

Manny is the Managing Director for UK & Europe at Orbit Fab, supporting the development of an in-space propellant and materials supply chain. Manny is focused on technology development, commercialisation, and international growth for this leading space start-up. Manny previously helped develop BryceTech’s international consulting presence into a revenue generating and profitable business, managed the analysis of a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of assets at Inmarsat, and executed on cross-functional initiatives at top-tier investment banks. Manny holds a master’s degree in space studies from the International Space University and a bachelor’s in computer science from the University of Kent.
Manny sits on multiple advisory boards and committees, including UKSA’s Space Technology Advisory Committee, the UK’s Spaceflight Safety and Regulatory Council, and the International Astronautical Federation’s Industry Relations Committee. He is a recipient of the 2023 IAF Young Space Leader, the 2019 and 2020 SSPI 20 under 35 award, SGAC’s Space Generation Leadership award, and the William S. Ball Award for Entrepreneurship.

Jörn Spurmann

Chief Commercial Officer, Rocket Factory Augsburg AG

Jörn Spurmann is the Chief Commercial Officer of Rocket Factory Augsburg AG and managing director of RFA Azores and RFA Portugal. As Rocket Factory’s co-founder he operationalized the company mid of 2018.

Mr. Spurmann has a proven track record as head of sales, program and business unit manager in the space domain. Throughout his senior leadership roles, he has gained excellent knowledge of the institutional and commercial space business.

Vijay Thakur

Satellite Technical Authority, Eutelsat

Vijay’s current role is Satellite Technical Authority in the Technical Department at Eutelsat.
During more than 22 years based at the Paris HQ, he has held several Programme Manager roles, most
recently for the EUTELSAT 10B aeronautical/maritime connectivity mission which will shortly enter
service as the newest member of the Eutelsat fleet. He is also an experienced Satellite System
Engineering Manager overseeing the procurement of more than 15 satellites and working with the
major prime contractors and launch service providers in Europe, the USA and India.
Throughout his time at Eutelsat, Vijay has been directly involved with industry in support of the
introduction of many key technologies (electric propulsion, high performance solar arrays, lithium-ion
batteries) for their advanced GEO satellite platforms.
Previously, Vijay was a Senior Scientist at the Space Department of the Defence Evaluation and
Research Agency (now Qinetiq) in Farnborough, UK. His work involved the assessment of new and
emerging concepts for satellite avionics subsystems as well as contributing to several in-orbit
technology demonstration missions.
Vijay holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Imperial College, London and a Master’s Degree in
Spacecraft Technology and Satellite Communications from University College, London.

Charles Thornton

Director of Aerospace Risk Management, Northrop Grumman

Charles Thornton is Director of Aerospace Risk Management for Northrop Grumman’s aeronautic and space operations ensuring that Northrop Grumman’s aerospace risk profile is minimized by negotiating best-in-class insurance protections.  Thornton’s specific insurance program responsibilities include aviation, space, cargo, environmental and cyber insurance and management of all related claims.

Prior to his present role, Thornton was director of risk management and real estate with Orbital ATK.  Before that, he served as director of risk management at US Airways and has worked as an insurance broker at Willis and as an underwriter at United States Aircraft Insurance Group.  Thornton’s career includes flying experience as a flight instructor and contract pilot for UPS.

Thornton graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Aviation from Louisiana Tech University and he holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from George Mason University. As a community volunteer, Thornton directs regional scout camps to promote the skill and leadership development for multiple scout troops.

Alan Thompson

Head of Government Affairs, Skyrora

Alan Thompson is head of Government Affairs in Skyrora supporting the launch vehicle manufacture to achieve its ambition of providing regular access to Space, launching from the UK. Alan is responsible for managing and engaging with all key stakeholders across industry and Government. This includes Skyrora’s involvement in Parliamentary Space Committee, industry associations such as ADS UK Space, Space Scotland and others, and direct engagement with all government authorities, including the Space flight regulators- UKSA and CAA, academic stakeholders, and broader industry. A member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and with a background in international trade and development all give Alan a new perspective to Space industry development in UK, in particular the ambition to challenge the current economic paradigm and the shift that the New Space economy will necessitate.

Benjamin Weber

Head Aviation & Space, Partner Reinsurance Europe SE

Aviation (Re-)Insurance practitioner since 1986. Started as Treaty Underwriter with Winterthur Re in Switzerland. Benjamin joined PartnerRe in 1998 when Winterthur Re was sold to PartnerRe.

He is the longest serving head of a Business Unit at PartnerRe. In addition, he served the International Union of Aerospace Insurers (IUAI) in various functions and became its president in 2011 and 2012.

Joshua Western

CEO & Co-Founder, Space Forge

From kick-starting their mission to change the face of the space industry – making space work for humanity – Josh, alongside Co-Founder Andrew Bacon, have taken the industry leading startup from a garage in Bristol to raising the largest ever seed round in Europe by a Space Tech company.

Space Forge is developing the world’s first fully reusable platform, unlocking the benefits of space for manufacturing and experimentation at scale.

By producing next generation materials off-planet and returning to Earth, a step change in humanity’s progress is possible – with the power to progress a clean industrial revolution.

Prior to co-founding Space Forge, Josh gained a vast knowledge of the UK Space Industry: working for Thales Alenia Space as well as a secondment to the UK Space Agency, focused on Critical National Infrastructure right though to technology harmonisation with European Space Agency member states.

Joanne Wheeler

Managing Partner, Alden

Joanne is one of the leading experts in the field of satellite regulation and commercial contracts, having worked at both Ofcom, the European Space Agency and for over 20 years in private legal practice in this area. She was awarded an MBE for services to the UK space industry in 2017. She is ranked in Tier 1 in legal directories for her satellite and communications regulatory and commercial contracts expertise.

Joanne won the Financial Times European Legal Innovator of the Year award in 2014 for her work with the UK space industry and government. She is a founder and Co-Chair of the Satellite Finance Network (www.satellitefinancenetwork.org) and writes two regulatory columns for international satellite industry journals: Via Satellite; and Satellite Finance. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society.