Hear from CEOs and senior executives from five publicly-traded (or soon to list) space-industry companies including Intuitive Machines, Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc., Planet Labs PBC, Satixfy, and AST SpaceMobile, Inc. The speakers discussed growth companies in the space industry, the exploration of the moon and Mars, satellites and peripheral technologies, as well as IPOs and SPACs. The event also featured data from Sentieo, an AI-enabled research platform.
Watch the highlight video below (or click the link underneath to see the entire event):
The event, hosted in partnership with Latham & Watkins LLP, ICR and The Palm Beach Hedge Fund Association featured panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, along with a live Q&A session, totaling approximately 75 minutes.
Speakers included:
- Steve Altemus, CEO, Intuitive Machines, merging with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: IPAX)
- David Ripstein, CEO, Satixfy, merging with Endurance Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: EDNC)
- Dan Hart, CEO, Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: VORB)
- Scott Wisniewski, Chief Strategy Officer, AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASTS)
- Mike Safyan, Vice President of Launch, Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL)
- Nick S. Dhesi, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Latham & Watkins LLP
- Tom Cook, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, ICR
- Jarrett Banks, Editor-at-Large, IPO Edge
- John Jannarone, Editor-in-Chief, IPO Edge
Topics included:
- Financing growth companies in the space industry
- IPOs, SPACs and private financing
- Moon and Mars exploration
- Satellites and peripheral technologies
- Communication technology
- Regulatory environment
About the speakers:
- Mike Safyan –Mike began his career in the space industry at NASA Ames, where he worked on the PhoneSat project, developing low-cost CubeSat platforms that use smartphone technology. In 2011, he joined the eight-person founding team at Planet Labs as a systems engineer. As the company grew from the initial eight employees to a global organization of over 450 people, Mike moved through a wide range of roles, from export regulatory licensing & compliance, overseeing Planet’s global ground station network to managing Planet’s launch strategy, the position he holds today.
- Stephen Altemus – Mr. Stephen Altemus currently serves as the Co-Founder and President of Intuitive Machines. Intuitive Machines is an engineering solutions company that brings unique expertise in control systems, motor control, advanced manufacturing, mechanics, electronics, software development, computational analysis, and sensing to solve significant challenges across multiple industries including Aerospace, Medicine, and Energy. Prior to founding Intuitive Machines, Mr. Altemus was appointed to serve as the Deputy Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), a Center charged with overseeing human spaceflight plans and programs for the Agency.
- David Ripstein – David Ripstein is a technology-oriented CEO with 20 years of experience founding, growing (and sometimes turning around) global high-tech companies. He has served as President and CEO of GreenRoad Technologies, a global provider of fleet safety and driver behavior solutions, since 2017.
- Dan Hart – Over the course of his career, Dan has served in senior leadership roles across a wide range of aerospace programs, spanning human spaceflight, satellite development, launch, and missile defense, and running through all phases of the aerospace product life cycle, from research and development through design, production, and spaceflight operations. Dan currently serves as President and CEO for Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson’s pioneering commercial space firm, which launches small satellites into space from a rocket carried under the wing of a modified Boeing 747. It is Virgin’s contribution to the massive transformation going on in space technology, and has the clear goal of opening access to space to improve life on Earth.
- Thomas Cook – Tom Cook works as a Senior Vice President at ICR, which is an Advertising & Marketing company with an estimated 199 employees; and founded in 1998., their management level is VP-Level. Tom graduated from Roger Williams University in 2013 and is currently based in New York City, United States.
- Scott Wisniewski – Mr. Wisniewski oversees corporate development, treasury, investor relations and public relations. Previously, Mr. Wisniewski was Managing Director of Technology, Media & Telecommunications Investment Banking at Barclays, advising clients on raising capital and M&A for over a decade. While at Barclays, he advised AST SpaceMobile on the $110 million private investment in 2019 and the recently closed business combination transaction, which raised $462 million in gross proceeds. Earlier in his career he was a management consultant focused on supplier development and a mechanical design engineer. Mr. Wisniewski received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
