For our opening session, we cover an update on the satellite industry from the industry’s leading consultants. We look at the trends to expect and predictions to come from the industry over the course of the coming year and which of the many innovative options available can be applied for long term growth.
Chris Baugh
Mr. Baugh serves as the President and Founder of Northern Sky Research (NSR), which he created in 2000 to provide independent, actionable market research and consulting services to the satellite industry. Mr. Baugh directs all NSR multi-client research reports and single-client consulting projects and manages a global team of analysts that stand at the forefront of satellite industry expertise.
Before forming NSR, Mr. Baugh served as Senior Analyst for Pioneer Consulting where he covered all aspects of the satellite market. Prior to Pioneer, Mr. Baugh was an International Trade Specialist and Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC. While at the Department of Commerce, Mr. Baugh was a recipient of the Charles F. Meissner Memorial Award for his work on trade negotiations in the International Trade Administration.
Mr. Baugh also has extensive legislative and analytical experience from his work for the Committee on International Relations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, both in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Baugh holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Westminster College and a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University.
Carissa Christensen
Carissa Christensen. Carissa Christensen is an internationally recognized expert on the space industry and commercial space, R&D processes, and technology forecasting.
She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bryce Space and Technology, an analytics and engineering firm based in Alexandria, Va., that serves as a trusted advisor to government and space industry decision-makers, as well as investors. Bryce develops and maintains definitive data sets on the global space economy, including the commercial launch and satellite industries. Christensen previously co-founded firms including defense contractor The Tauri Group, acquired by LMI, and quantum computing software company QxBranch, acquired by Rigetti Computing. She is an active investor who serves on several early stage boards.
Christensen currently sits on the National Research Council Space Technology Industry- Government-University Roundtable, which advises NASA; the World Economic Forum Global Future Council; and the Senior Advisory Council of the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy. She is a Senior Advisor to the annual US Air Force space-focused Schriever Wargame.
Christensen has testified before Congress on space markets, speaks at industry symposia and events such as the White House Frontiers Conference and the Harvard Business School Dialogue, and frequently guest lectures at universities internationally. She publishes extensively and has appeared in commercial space documentaries by The Financial Times and Bloomberg.
Christensen is a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School, where she specialized in science and technology policy. She attended the London School of Economics and was a Douglass Scholar at Rutgers University. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Chris Quilty
Chris is the president of Quilty Analytics, an independent research and consulting firm that provides strategy, competitive benchmarking, financial analysis, and investment diligence on all aspects of the Satellite & Space industry.
Prior to establishing Quilty Analytics in 2016, Chris served as a sell-side research analyst with Raymond James for 20 years, publishing hundreds of company-specific, macro, sector, and thematic research reports on the industrial, defense, space, wireless, and communications industries. Chris is widely-acknowledged as the leading Wall Street analyst on the Satellite & Space sector, and has participated in 30 capital markets transactions over the past five years valued at over $2.5 billion
Chris received a BS degree in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1989 and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1994.
Richard Rogers
Richard A. Rogers, Executive Vice President of Stellar Solutions, Inc, is the senior technical expert leading the company’s unique and collaborative approach to meeting the critical engineering needs of vital customers. He holds a breadth of experience in all aspects of space and satellite systems cultivated over an illustrious 35-year engineering career.
In his current strategy and operations leadership role, Rogers works closely with CEO Michael Lencioni in leading strategic initiatives focused on integration and development across Stellar Solutions’ commercial, defense, intelligence, civil aerospace, and international lines of business. He recently served as Stellar Solutions’ Vice President of Civil Programs for 11 years, leading broad non-defense space and technology areas including robotic and human missions, remote sensing instruments, and transportation systems. He was also responsible for Stellar’s programs supporting emerging exploration technologies and ground-based astronomy systems.
Rogers joined Stellar Solutions in 1999 as a systems engineer supporting intelligence and defense programs and, during the next 10 years, progressed through challenging engineering, business development, and leadership roles within the company. He served as a senior systems engineer on numerous space programs for NASA, NOAA, and universities directed towards Earth science, meteorology, and astrophysics.
Earlier in his career, Rogers had roles as a systems and electrical engineer for Raytheon, SAIC, Loral, and GTE in the Unite States and abroad, supporting numerous space and ground processing systems vital to national security.
Richard Rogers earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology and master’s degree in business administration from Boston University. He is an active member of several professional societies, including the IEEE, INCOSE, AIAA, and the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Dr. Marco Villa
Dr. Marco Villa grew up in Italy and developed an early passion for airplanes and spacecraft. After obtaining his private pilot license and serving in the Italian Parachutists Corp, Dr. Villa received his Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1999 from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
Throughout his career Dr. Villa has worked on some of the most advanced and cutting-edge programs in the industry, from technology demonstration satellites to leading commercial efforts, and he has developed a unique expertise that combines management, finance and technical knowledge.
Following a brief stint as a structural analysis at Carlo Gavazzi Space in Milano, Italy, he moved to the United States and earned his Doctoral Degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2005 while also leading a small satellite development projects. Dr. Villa also earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering Management while working as system engineer and project manager for Swales Aerospace and as a contractor for NASA and the Air Force. This period provided Dr. Villa with a broad understanding of spacecraft systems as he performed leading roles for many innovative small satellite and launch vehicle systems, including the Air Force sponsored TacSat 3 spacecraft and the Autonomous Flight Safety System.
In 2007, Dr. Villa joined Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), where he served as Director of Mission Operations, with direct responsibility over the definition and execution of the Dragon spacecraft’s mission to the International Space Station. Dr. Villa was integral in the effort to secure and execute $2.5B in contracts for ISS cargo resupply and crewed Dragon development programs while also supporting the sales and business development department. Before leaving SpaceX in 2013, Dr. Villa played an important role in the on-going effort to develop the crewed version of the Dragon capsule, with responsibilities ranging from the definition of the overall concept of operations, to the establishment of the crew training methodology.
In 2010 Dr. Villa and Max Vozoff founded mv2space LLC, a Business Development, Strategy formulation and support services consultancy. Its clients include both start-ups and established companies in the government and commercial space domains, energy, automotive and digital media sectors.
With mv2space, Mr. Villa brings deep experience in strategy formulation and implementation, program management and systems engineering, and has developed advanced financial modeling and analysis tools that, when customized for each client, form the basis for their business plans, strategies and priorities.
Dr. Villa currently serves as the President and COO of Tyvak Nan-Satellite Systems Inc. His responsibilities span from day-to-day management of the company, to direct the company strategic efforts, to acquisition and execution of all nanosatellite opportunities for government, commercial and university customers both nationally and internationally.