Speakers who participated at the 2023 event included:

• 

  Rick Tumlinson

  Founding partner, SpaceFund and EarthLight Foundation

  X

  

  Rick Tumlinson

  Founding partner, SpaceFund and EarthLight Foundation

• 

  Bhavya Lal

  Former associate administrator, technology, policy and strategy, NASA

  X

  

  Bhavya Lal

  Former associate administrator, technology, policy and strategy, NASA

  Dr. Bhavya Lal is the former Associate Administrator for technology, policy, and strategy within the office of the NASA Administrator, and responsible for providing evidence-driven advice to NASA leadership on internal and external policy issues, strategic planning, and technology investments. She also created and provided executive leadership and direction to the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS). Lal also previously served as the acting Chief Technologist of NASA and was the first woman to hold the position in over 60 years of NASA history.

  Prior to her Associate Administrator role and in the first 100 days of the Biden Administration, Lal was the acting Chief of Staff at NASA and directed the agency’s transition under the administration of President Biden. Before arriving at NASA, she was a member of the Presidential Transition Agency Review Teams for both NASA and the Department of Defense. For 15 years prior to that, Dr. Lal led strategy, technology assessment, and policy studies and analyses at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the National Space Council, NASA, Department of Defense, and other federal departments and agencies. Before coming to IDA, Lal was Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Studies at Abt Associates, a global policy research and consulting firm based in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Lal’s analyses have been at the center of almost all space-relevant policies for the last decade. For her many contributions to the space community, she was nominated and selected to be a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

  Dr. Lal is an active member of the space technology and policy community, having chaired, co-chaired, or served on six high-impact National Academy of Sciences (NAS) ad hoc committees. She served two consecutive terms on the NOAA Federal Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES), was an External Council Member of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program, and was selected to join the NASA Technology, Innovation and Engineering Advisory Committee (NAC/TIE). She co-founded and was co-chair of the policy track of the American Nuclear Society’s annual conference on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies in Space (NETS) and co-organized a seminar series on space history and policy with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

  Dr. Lal holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a second master’s from MIT’s Technology and Policy Program, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration from George Washington University. She is a member of both the nuclear engineering and public policy and public administration honor societies, and has published more than 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

• 

  Steve Jurvetson

  Co-founder, Future Ventures

  X

  

  Steve Jurvetson

  Co-founder, Future Ventures

  Steve Jurvetson is an early-stage venture capitalist with a focus on founder-led, mission-driven companies at the cutting edge of disruptive technology and new industry formation.  Steve led founding investments in several companies that had successful IPOs and others that were billion-dollar acquisitions, representing $800 billion of aggregate value creation. Some of those early VC investments include Planet Labs, SpaceX and Tesla.

   

  Before co-founding Future Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Steve was an R&D Engineer at Hewlett-Packard, where seven of his chip designs were fabricated.  He also worked in product marketing at Apple and NeXT and management consulting with Bain & Company.  He completed his undergraduate Electrical Engineering degree at Stanford in 2.5 years, graduating #1 in his class, and went on to earn a MSEE and MBA from Stanford.

   

  In 2017, Steve received the Visionary Award from SV Forum. In 2016, President Barack Obama appointed Steve as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. Steve has also been honored as one of “Tech’s Best Venture Investors” by Forbes, and as the “Venture Capitalist of the Year” by Deloitte.

• 

  Martin Rees

  UK Astronomer Royal, member of the House of Lords, and emeritus professor of cosmology and astrophysics, Cambridge University

  X

  

  Martin Rees

  UK Astronomer Royal, member of the House of Lords, and emeritus professor of cosmology and astrophysics, Cambridge University

  Martin Rees (Lord Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS) is the UK’s Astronomer Royal. He is based at Cambridge University where he is a Fellow (and Former Master) of Trinity College. He is a former President of the Royal Society and a member of many foreign academies. His research interests include space exploration, high energy astrophysics, and cosmology. He is co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risks at Cambridge University (CSER), and has served on many bodies connected with education, space research, arms control and international collaboration in science. In addition to his research publications he has written many general articles and ten books, including, most recently ‘On the Future: Prospects for Humanity’ , ‘The End of Astronauts’ (with Don Goldsmith), and ‘If Science is to Save Us’

• 

  Dylan Taylor

  Chairman and chief executive, Voyager Space

  X

  

  Dylan Taylor

  Chairman and chief executive, Voyager Space

• 

  Susan M. Gordon

  Former principal deputy director of national intelligence and board member, BlackSky

  X

  

  Susan M. Gordon

  Former principal deputy director of national intelligence and board member, BlackSky

  The Honorable Susan M. Gordon was confirmed as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence in 2017, becoming the nation’s highest-ranking career intelligence officer. In that capacity, Ms. Gordon was a key advisor to the President and National Security Council and provided leadership to the 17-member Intelligence Community (IC). In particular, she focused on advancing intelligence integration across the IC, expanding outreach and partnerships, and driving innovation.

   

  In over three decades of service with both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Ms. Gordon earned a reputation as a visionary leader, delivering innovative solutions on a broad spectrum of complex issues including cybersecurity, emerging and disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), information operations, and space.

   

  Ms. Gordon is currently a consultant on technology and global risk. Among other endeavors, she is a Senior Fellow at Duke University and at Harvard University, an independent director at CACI and Avantus Federal, and a consultant to Microsoft and other technology companies

• 

  Adam Spice

  Chief financial officer, Rocket Lab

  X

  

  Adam Spice

  Chief financial officer, Rocket Lab

  Mr. Spice has served as Rocket Lab’s Chief Financial Officer since May 2018, and has served as the Secretary and Treasurer since May 2021. From January 2011 until May 2018, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at MaxLinear, Inc., a provider of radio frequency, analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for the connected home, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multimarket applications. From October 2009 to November 2010, Mr. Spice was the Chief Financial Officer of Symwave Corporation, a venture backed fabless semiconductor company until its sale to Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC). From July 2000 until September 2009, Mr. Spice held a variety of financial and operational executive roles at Broadcom Corporation, a creator of semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. From June 1996 until July 2000, Mr. Spice worked as a finance manager for Intel, a microchips manufacturer. Mr. Spice has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Brigham Young university and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

• 

  Cristina Dalle Ore

  Head of remote sensing and geospatial intelligence, Bayer Crop Science

  X

  

  Cristina Dalle Ore

  Head of remote sensing and geospatial intelligence, Bayer Crop Science

• 

  Jerry Porter

  Chief R&D and innovation officer, Fabric & Home Care, Flavor & Fragrance, Procter & Gamble

  X

  

  Jerry Porter

  Chief R&D and innovation officer, Fabric & Home Care, Flavor & Fragrance, Procter & Gamble

  Jerry Porter is the chief R&D and innovation officer, Fabric & Home Care, Flavor & Fragrance at Procter & Gamble, a role he has held since January 2020.

   

  In this role, Jerry leads innovation within P&G Global Fabric Care, the Company’s single largest category that includes many of P&G’s most iconic brands like Tide, Ariel, Downy and Gain. He also serves in an Executive Leadership position responsible for the innovation strategy for the entire Fabric & Home Care Sector, a $28 billion business that makes up for 34% of P&G net sales. Jerry also serves as the Executive R&D leader for P&G’s Flavors & Fragrances capability.

   

  A strategic innovation leader deeply rooted in the business who sees the opportunity in every difficulty, Jerry uniquely leverages technical depth and innovation strategically to serve consumers and business with a portfolio of superior product propositions.

   

  During his 35+ year career at P&G, Jerry has achieved a track record of transformational results that accelerated Company growth and created sustainable innovation in Europe, the United States and Asia across multiple consumer goods categories, from assembled paper products and laundry to household cleaning and prestige beauty brands. This resulted in years of competitive advantage for P&G.

   

  Just before his appointment to the Fabric Care business, Jerry led the P&G Home Care R&D organization as Vice President for four years where, under his leadership, his organization delivered significant innovations that are improving consumer lives every day. Committed to empowering the organization, in addition to his business unit responsibilities, Jerry also leads recruiting for R&D and serves as the R&D Executive for the P&G African American Leadership Network.

• 

  Andrea Vena

  Chief climate and sustainability officer, European Space Agency

  X

  

  Andrea Vena

  Chief climate and sustainability officer, European Space Agency

• 

  Doreen Bogdan-Martin

  Secretary-general, International Telecommunication Union

  X

  

  Doreen Bogdan-Martin

  Secretary-general, International Telecommunication Union

  Doreen Bogdan-Martin took office as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.

   

  Ms Bogdan-Martin has held leadership positions in the field of international telecommunications policy for over two decades, with a track-record of brokering innovative partnerships to expand digital inclusion and connectivity for everyone around the world. Following her historic election by ITU Member States in September 2022, she became the first woman ever to head the organization, which was first established in 1865 and became a UN specialized agency in 1947.

   

  As ITU Secretary-General, she aims to drive innovative solutions, maximize ITU’s relevance for its 193 Member States, intensify global cooperation on connecting the unconnected, and strengthen the alignment of ITU’s programmes with the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations. Ms Bogdan-Martin has consistently emphasized the need for digital transformation to achieve economic prosperity, job creation, skills development, gender equality, and socio-economic inclusion, as well as to build circular economies, reduce climate impact, and save lives.

   

  As Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau for a four-year term starting in 2018, she helped put sustainable digital development at the forefront of international cooperation, including with the private sector and civil society. Among other ITU development priorities, she actively promoted the Partner2Connect initiative, which has mobilized unprecedented pledges of funding and support for meaningful Internet connectivity in developing countries.

• 

  Chris Kemp

  Founder, chairman and chief executive, Astra

  X

  

  Chris Kemp

  Founder, chairman and chief executive, Astra

• 

  Don Graves

  Deputy secretary, US Department of Commerce

  X

  

  Don Graves

  Deputy secretary, US Department of Commerce

  Don Graves is the 19th Deputy Secretary of Commerce.

  Graves brings decades of experience in the private sector, government, and nonprofits to the Department of Commerce. Most recently, he served as Counselor to President Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to that, Graves served as Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations at KeyBank. In this role, Graves led KeyBank’s corporate responsibility team, including the bank’s $16.5 billion National Community Benefits Plan, the bank’s sustainability work, stakeholder engagement, and outreach, and oversaw the KeyBank Foundation and the First Niagara Foundation.

  During the Obama-Biden Administration, Graves served as Counselor and Domestic and Economic Policy Director for then-Vice President Biden. He was previously appointed by President Barack Obama as Executive Director of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and led the federal government’s efforts in the economic recovery of the city of Detroit. Graves also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Small Business, Community Development, and Housing Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he oversaw the CDFI Fund, the $4 billion Small Business Lending Fund, and the $1.5 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative. He was also the U.S. Federal Representative to the G7 Task Force on Social Impact Investment.

  He has served on the Board of Directors of the MetroHealth Foundation, the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, the Board of Trustees of the Community Reinvestment Fund, the Policy Advisory Board of the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, the Board of Visitors of the Cuyahoga Community College, the Advisory Board of the Commission on Economic Inclusion, and as Co-Chair of Cleveland Rising.

  Graves has a rich family history connected to the Commerce Department. His four-times great grandparents built a successful horse and buggy taxi business in Washington that once stood at the site of the Department’s headquarters. Their son went on to own a premier hotel just blocks away and become one of our nation’s first Black patent-holders through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  Graves holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Williams College and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he received the Dean’s Award. He is a fellow of the National Association of Public Administration. Graves is married and has two children.

• 

  Dr Laurie Leshin

  Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  X

  

  Dr Laurie Leshin

  Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  Dr. Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since May 2022, is a distinguished geochemist and space scientist with extensive leadership experience in academia and government, including senior NASA positions.

   

  Leshin was president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute from 2014 to 2022 and previously served as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Science dean. At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center from 2005 to 2008, she served as director of science, then deputy director for science and technology, leading strategy, planning, and implementation of more than 50 Earth and space flight projects. In 2010, Leshin became deputy associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, overseeing future human spaceflight.

   

  Her numerous honors include NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal and Distinguished Public Service Medal, and the Meteoritical Society’s Nier Prize for outstanding research by a scientist under the age of 35. The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 4922 Leshin to honor her planetary science contributions. Leshin advised President George W. Bush on space policy, and Barack Obama appointed her to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum advisory board. Leshin holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Arizona State University, and master’s and doctoral degrees in geochemistry from Caltech.

   

  Leshin is the first woman to serve as JPL director, a role that also includes serving as Vice President at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. Leshin is also a Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science at Caltech and will continue as co-investigator for two instruments on NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover.

• 

  Dr Pippa Malmgren

  Former US Presidential and UK cabinet advisor, fellow RUSI

  X

  

  Dr Pippa Malmgren

  Former US Presidential and UK cabinet advisor, fellow RUSI

  Dr. Malmgren brings simple sensemaking to the complexities of the world economy, geopolitics and technology. She’s advised Presidents and Prime Ministers, co-founded an award-winning tech firm, worked in finance and asset management and served as a judge in The Queen’s Enterprise Awards competition and as a regulator of technology standards.

   

  She has lectured at Sandhurst, Duke Fuqua GEMBA, INSEAD, UT Austin and Tsinghua University in Beijing.

• 

  Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw

  Deputy commander, United States Space Command

  X

  

  Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw

  Deputy commander, United States Space Command

  Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw is the Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Command. U.S. Space Command is the Unified Combatant Command responsible for conducting operations in, from, and to space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined force, and defend U.S. vital interests with allies and partners.

   

  Lt. Gen. Shaw entered the Air Force in 1990 as a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in astronautical engineering and a minor in Russian language. He has served in a variety of air and space operations and staff positions, including operations tours in the 50th Space Wing, the National Reconnaissance Office, the 32nd Air Operations Group and the Space Warfare Center. His operational commands have included the 4th Space Operations Squadron, the 50th Operations Group and the 21st Space Wing. He also served at U.S. Strategic Command as Director of the Commander’s Action Group and as Deputy Director for Operations, and in the Pentagon as an Air Force intern, as Deputy Chief of Space Strategy and Integration, a speechwriter and as a senior space policy advisor.

   

  Prior to his current position, Lt. Gen. Shaw was dual hatted as the Commander, Combined Forces Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command, and Deputy Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg SFB, California. He also served as the Deputy Commander of Air Force Space Command, United States Air Force.

• 

  Oliver Morton

  Briefings editor, The Economist

  X

  

  Oliver Morton

  Briefings editor, The Economist

  Oliver Morton is The Economist’s briefings editor. Before coming to The Economist as energy and environment editor in 2009, he was the chief news and features editor of Nature, the international scientific journal. He specialises in the energy business, climate science and policy, and other green issues. He is the author of “Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet”, a study of photosynthesis, its meanings and its implications, and “Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination and the Birth of a World”.