General John Hyten, the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has said “The biggest key to the future of the entire budget is a Joint All Domain Operation.” An integrated C2 network is the US DoD’s current focus and it is likely that space will be the backbone for this. In the space support role, there is a lot of new evidence supporting the benefits of space and interconnecting space networks to other service platforms. Next-generation satellite systems are a major key to achieving the goals set by the US DoD.
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.
Clinton Crosier, Maj Gen (R)
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Clint Crosier is Director of the AWS Aerospace & Satellite Solutions business, responsible for providing commercial and government customers with tailored, secure, and cost-effective cloud solutions for building satellites, conducting space and launch operations, and reimagining space exploration.
Prior to joining AWS, Crosier served 33 years in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, retiring as a Major General. During his career, he operated GPS, SatCom, and missile warning satellite constellations, launched Atlas and Titan rockets putting national security payloads in orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office and Air Force Space Command, deployed to the Middle East during Operation Enduring Freedom as USSCENTCOM’s Director of Space Forces, and led Requirements and Strategy Development for the entire US Air Force. He has commanded at the Squadron, Group, and Wing levels, and held leadership roles as a US Senate Staffer and in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
Prior to retiring from military service, he was the lead planner and architect of the stand-up of the US Space Force, the first new military service in 72 years.
Crosier earned his degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. In 2020 he was inducted into the ISU Aerospace Engineering Hall of Fame. He has also earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi (Summa Cum Laude), and a Master’s of Science in National Security Studies from the US Naval War College with Highest Distinction. His military academic awards include earning Distinguished Graduate and Top Graduate accolades at Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and the Naval War College.
Pete Hoene, Brig. Gen., USAF (R)
Brigadier General Peter F. Hoene, USAF (Retired) was named President and CEO of SES Government Solutions on January 19, 2015. In his previous role, he served as the Corporate Vice President for Development for SES Government Solutions, headquartered in Reston, VA. As Corporate Vice President for Development, he worked with United States warfighters and other government users to help determine their requirements and offer communications support, hosted payload opportunities, and network solutions. He then communicated those requirements to the SES parent organization to take advantage of existing on-orbit SES fleet capacity, or to influence future satellite designs.
Pete retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2010 as Brigadier General, following 30 years of service. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as a distinguished graduate of both the Air Command and Staff College and the National War College. He holds two master’s degrees and served in a wide variety of Space, Command and Control, and research, development, acquisition, test, staff and command assignments. In his last active duty position, Hoene served as the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Program Executive Officer for Command and Control, where he managed a portfolio of Joint and Coalition Command and Control and Information Sharing programs.
Prior to his DISA assignment, he was Commander, 350th Electronic Systems Wing (C2&ISR Wing), Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., where he managed a portfolio of 49 command and control (C2), ISR, Space and Cyber programs valued at more than $9 billion.
Dr. Fred Kennedy
Dr. Fred Kennedy was the inaugural Director of the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD) Space Development Agency (SDA), established by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan on 12 March 2019. The SDA mission is to define and monitor the DOD’s future threat-driven space architecture and to accelerate the development and fielding of new military space capabilities necessary to ensure U.S. technological and military advantage in space for national defense.
From 2017 until he became the SDA Director, Dr. Kennedy was the Director of the Tactical Technology Office (TTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Prior to joining DARPA, he served as the senior policy advisor for national security space and aviation in the National Security and International Affairs Division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). In this role, Dr. Kennedy advised the President of the United States on matters related to space and aviation policy.
Dr. Kennedy served 23 years in the United States Air Force, where he retired as a colonel. During his tenure, he served as a Senior Materiel Leader in both the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Remote Sensing Directorate and the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center’s Battle Management Directorate. Prior to that, he was the lead for Space Requirements with the Joint Staff/J-8 in the Capabilities and Acquisition Division at the Pentagon and a chief for Spacecraft Payload Development and Test and Satellite Systems and Acquisition at the National Reconnaissance Office. From 2005 to 2008, while in the Air Force, Dr. Kennedy was a program manager in TTO, where he created and managed efforts around spacecraft and satellite servicing, advanced space power and propulsion systems, and innovative space technologies.
Dr. Kennedy holds a Ph.D. in electronics and physical sciences from the University of Surrey; a Master of Arts in organizational management from George Washington University; a Master of Arts in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College; and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science, both in aeronautics and astronautics, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Kay Sears
Kay Sears is the Vice President and General Manager of the Military Space line of business within Lockheed Martin Space. In this role, Kay is responsible for critical national security space programs and mission areas including global navigation satellite systems, space-based missile warning, protected communications, space protection and operations, logistics and sustainment for various customers including the Department of Defense.
Previously, Kay was the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development where she was credited with growing the Space business with a comprehensive strategy to develop new markets and expand core mission areas. She also led strategic planning, advanced program development and new business efforts for each of Space’s lines of business.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Kay served as president of Intelsat General. As president, Kay implemented the company’s strategic and operational plans and was responsible for their mission to provide a range of sustainable, cost-effective and secure communication solutions to government and commercial customers. Before that, she helped launch the government services business units at both G2 Satellite Solutions and Verestar.
With three decades of experience, Kay is a respected leader in the aerospace and defense industry. Kay is passionate about building effective partnerships with her customers, which was sparked by her experience providing space services to warfighters while she was on the operations side of the business. She believes it will take true partnership between industry and government to defeat our adversaries. Kay prides herself on finding common ground and priorities to partner in trusting and long-lasting relationships, and she has done so time and time again throughout her career.
Notably, Kay was appointed to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee in 2009 to provide information, technical expertise, advice and guidance regarding issues that may affect national security telecommunications capabilities.
In 2014, Kay was honored with the National Defense Industrial Association’s Peter B. Teets Award, which recognizes leaders of notable influence who have made significant contributions to strengthening our national security through space capabilities or technology.
Kay has a bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from the University of Richmond and an MBA in Information Systems from George Washington University.
Chris Shank
Chris Shank is a Vice President at Maxar Technologies. Chris previously held various leadership roles in the military, U.S. government and commercial industry for over 25 years. Before joining Maxar, Chris was the Director of the Strategic Capabilities Office at the U.S. Department of Defense. In this role, he led the development of new and innovative ways to shape and counter emerging threats across all domains, bringing unexpected and game-changing capabilities to the Joint Force.Chris has also held leadership roles at Van Scoyoc Associates, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Honeywell Aerospace, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA. He served as an Officer in the U.S. Air Force for 11 years with assignments at Space Command, National Reconnaissance Office, and Pentagon. Chris holds a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame.