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President,
ASI – Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Executive Vice President, Space
Commercialization,
Axiom Space
Chief Innovation Officer ,
AIKO Space
Managing Director,
Voyager Space Europe
CCO,
The Exploration Company
Head of institutional relations (with ESA,
CNES) for civil programmes ,
ArianeGroup
CEO,
Agricolus
CTO,
Sirius Space Services
Solutions Architect, Aerospace & Satellite
EMEA,
Amazon Web Services
Research Director, Space Exploration
Innovation Hub Center,
JAXA
European Lead for Space Strategy and
Business Development,
Lockheed Martin
Senior Business Development Associate,
Skyrora
Cosmonaut,
Italian Air Force
Senior Vice President, Research, Digital &
Innovation,
Telespazio
Technical coordinator,
CNES Data Campus
Managing Director,
Airbus Italia
Lead Application Engineer,
Ansys
Agronomist and Data Scientist,
Agricolus
CEO,
Opus Aerospace
Deputy CEO and SEVP Observation, Exploration
and Navigation,
Thales Alenia Space
Vice President Exploration and Science
Domain,
Thales Alenia Space
President,
TerraNIS
Head of Engineering for Services,
Rolls-Royce
R&T Aerothermal Engineer,
Capgemini Engineering
Founder,
E2MC Ventures
Head of Products,
KP Labs
CEO,
Altec
Partner,
Oliver Wyman
Senior veterinary expert,
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of
Venice
Professor,
University of Brescia and director of the
Smart Agrifood Observatory
GIS specialist,
Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of
Venice
Secretary General,
European Association of Remote Sensing
Companies (EARSC)
Aerospace Engineer,
Officina Stellare
TRUTHS Payload Manager,
ESA/ESTEC
Acting Special Assistant for International
Integration, Exploration Systems
Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD),
NASA
CEO,
STAM
Project Manager,
AIPAS – Association of Italian Space
Enterprises
Professor, University of Padua and CEO, T4i,
T4i
Manager Space Economy Observation and
Navigation,
Thales Alenia Space
Space Economy and Open Innovation Advisor
COO, T4i, PoC Hub Veneto WIA-E,
T4i
Managing Director,
NVISO GmbH
National Defense and Technology Program
Manager,
Starion Group
CEO,
Metodo Ongaro
Founder,
PNAT
Chef and nutritional & Nutraceutical
Consultant,
Cucina Verticale
Managing Advisor,
Beyond Enterprizes
Senior Advisor for Strategic Evolution and Chief
Diversity Officer,
ESA
Navigation
2023 Edition
Show Dates & Location
May 20 – 22, 2024
Venice, Italy
Contact Us
spacemeetingsveneto@advbe.com
+39 (0)6 88 64 49 49
President,
ASI – Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
In charge as President of the Italian Space Agency since June 14th 2023; Full Professor of Materials Science and Technology and Aerospace Materials at Rome University “La Sapienza”.
Executive Vice President, Space
Commercialization ,
Axiom Space
Christian serves as Axiom Space Executive Vice President for Space Commercialization,bringing his unique expertise to Axiom’s leadership team to leverage microgravity as a next generation platform for innovation and discovery. He leads market and business development efforts for Axiom where he directs Axiom’s conversations with new customers while guiding the company’s development of its product and service offerings.
Prior to joining Axiom, Christian had a 17-year career at NASA involved in all things related to conducting research and technology demonstrations on the International Space Station (ISS). This included roles designing and managing science experiments for research customers and managing whole science missions on the ISS for NASA and its international partners. Ultimately responsible for all the strategic research planning for the ISS, he helped lead transition of the ISS Program from construction phase to full operations for science,
research and technology demonstrations. He has extensive history working with a variety of customers implementing diverse strategies to expand the commercialization of low Earth orbit and delivering in-space services and solutions to a variety of commercial, government and academic customers.
Christian is the recipient of numerous awards including the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and a co-author on a litany of publications derived from ISS research in which he participated. He holds both a B.S. and M.S. in biomechanical engineering from Tulane University.
Chief Innovation Officer,
AIKO Space
Mattia serves as Chief Innovation Officer and his primary role involves investigating and testing innovative technologies applied to advanced automation for the space sector. He earned his degree in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and gained valuable experience working as a systems engineer with the CubeSat Team Polito. Since 2018, Mattia has been an active member of AIKO, where he has honed his expertise in Artificial Intelligence, specifically in Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning. Prior to his current role, Mattia participated in several research projects and startup initiatives.
Managing Director,
Voyager Space Europe
Davide Petrillo has been appointed as Managing Director of Voyager Space based in Torino, Italy. Davide brings with him a wealth of experience in the aerospace industry, having previously worked as a business manager for Alten Ltd in London and as a business analyst for Accenture in Milano. In October 2021, he was elected as Vice President for Education and Workforce Development of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), and in 2020, he was appointed as Executive Director of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) until April 2023. Previously, he was also the team leader of FELDs Experiment selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the Drop Your Thesis! 2014 program. In 2015, he won the IAF “Hans Von Muldau Team Award” for the best team project at the 66th International Astronautical Congress (IAC). Davide holds an M.Sc. in aerospace engineering from the University of Padova, Italy.
CCO,
The Exploration Company
Dana Baki is the Chief Commercial Officer of The Exploration Company, one of the fastest growing space companies globally, building reusable space capsules and lunar landers. This Nyx capsule will be the first to use green propellant globally, while flying at a fraction of the cost of global competition.
Prior to joining The Exploration Company, Dana was the co-founder & COO of MUNCH:ON, a food technology platform based out of the Middle East, that was acquired by Careem (Uber’s subsidiary in the region). Before starting MUNCH:ON, Dana was a Partner of Business Development at AlJal Capital—a financing and venture capital firm in the United Arab Emirates. Previous to that, Ms. Baki worked for Procter & Gamble in the United States for 7+ years, benefiting from a wide range of assignments within the company and gaining expertise in Corporate Strategy, Marketing and Consumer Insights.
She holds an MBA from Georgetown University and B.A. in Economics and English Literature from The University of Michigan.
Head of institutional relations (with
ESA, CNES) for civil programmes ,
ArianeGroup
• Deputy Head of Marketing for Ariane programs (2012-2016)
• Strategy analyst for civil launchers (2016-2023),
• Sales & contract manager for THEMIS programme (2023)
CEO,
Agricolus
Andrea Cruciani is CEO and co-founder at Agricolus, innovative company based in Perugia that develops digital tools for Smart Farming. He is responsible for developing business at national and international level and managing the finance area.
He is member of the Board of Directors of the Fiware Foundation and Chairman of the Smart Agrifood MSC (Mission Support Committee) of the same foundation.
CTO,
Sirius Space Services
François embarked on his journey in the space sector in 1985, starting at SEP before transitioning to CNES, where he oversaw testing for the Ariane 5’s Vulcain Engine at the Launch Vehicles Directorate. He later took on roles managing the implementation program and ground/space interfaces at CNES. Following Ariane 5’s initial launches, he transitioned to ARIANESPACE in commercial management before joining STARSEM, where he served in sales and eventually as the commercial director for over fifteen years. In the past decade, François worked into the realm of space insurance, serving as the CEO of ARTI, a global leader in the field. Since April 2020, he embarked on a new chapter by joining Sirius Space Services, a pioneering space startup dedicated to innovation, challenge, and sustainability, as co-founder and CTO. Within three years of its establishment, Sirius Space Services has grown to a team of fifty individuals, comprising diverse talents and industry experts. Together, they are developing a range of sovereign, 100% reusable launchers tailored for small satellites, driven by a shared ambition to shape the future of space.
Solutions Architect, Aerospace &
Satellite EMEA,
Amazon Web Services
Giulio Autelitano is a Solutions Architect at AWS helping aerospace customers accelerating innovation trough the AWS cloud. He has a master degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Pisa and previously worked as a researcher in AI/ML at Stanford University and as a Robotic Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Research Director, Space
Exploration Innovation Hub Center,
JAXA
Dr. Munetaka Ueno is the Research Director of the Space Exploration Innovation Hub Center at JAXA and a Professor at Osaka University. With a Ph.D. in physics from Kyoto University (1994), he has held various roles, including heading the mission instrument technology group and serving as the Chief Engineer at JAXA. His expertise lies in observational astronomy, solar system science, and space development. Dr. Ueno has contributed to missions such as AKARI, AKATSUKI, and HAYABUSA. Additionally, he has held leadership positions in the Astronomical Society of Japan, played key roles in space science advisory committees in Japan, and chairperson of Standing Space Agency Subcommittee, International Project Management Committee. Recently, he was appointed as the project manager for a moonshot R&D project.
European Lead for Space Strategy
and Business Development,
Lockheed Martin
Marco Tantardini is European Lead for Space Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin, based at the Lockheed Martin office in Rome (Italy).
From May 2021 to October 2022, he has been an Expert for Space Policy in the Italian Government, in the Office of the Prime Minister, advising the Chair of the inter-Ministerial Committee for Space Policy (the Italian National Space Council). In 2019-2020, he was a member of the staff of the Secretariat of the first Italian National Space Council. In 2015-2018, he has been an Italian Space Agency (ASI) Associate in the Unit of the Technical Advisors to the President, appointed as the ASI technical contact point with the NASA HQ in the NASA-ASI feasibility study for the Italian participation in the NASA’s ARM Program (Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission, ARRM, phase). In 2015, he chaired the working group for the Office of the Military Advisor to the Prime Minister of Italy tasked to define a roadmap for automated transport.
He holds a BSc in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, received a MSc in Space Engineering from the Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, and completed the executive program Senior Executives in National and International Security (SENIS) at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Senior Business Development
Associate,
Skyrora
Rosie is a senior business development associate at Skyrora Ltd, a UK-based launch vehicle provider. Rosie fosters and manages relationships with satellite clients, collaborators and partners, working closely with the engineering team to ensure alignment with their work towards suborbital and orbital launch vehicle development.
Cosmonaut,
Italian Air Force
Born in Rome in 1974, Walter Villadei earned a degree in Space Engineering from the Federico II University of Naples. He initially served in the Operations Department of the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, as a Technical Officer. Transferred to the General Staff in 2003, he carried out various coordination and management functions within the AM, Defense and national space programmes. In 2008-2009 he carried out training activities at Star City, in Russia. In September 2021 he began a new path as a professional astronaut thanks to an agreement with Axiom Space. In 2023 he participated in the role of commander in the Virtute-1 mission (Italian Flight for Research and Technology sUborbiTalE), born from a commercial agreement between the Air Force and Virgin Galactic.
Senior Vice President, Research,
Digital & Innovation,
Telespazio
Marco Brancati began his career at Selenia Industrie where he dealt with System Analysis activities for the Electronic Defence Division, prior to moving to the Telespazio Group in 1990.
In September 2008 Marco was appointed Vice President of Telespazio Network & Connectivity Business Line, responsible for the development of all TLC and TV programs and products in the company. In February 2011 he was appointed Senior Vice President of Network & Connectivity Business Unit at the Group level. In the same year he completed his Executive Leadership Program at London Imperial College.
In 2016 Marco was appointed Chief Technology & Innovation Officer for Telespazio Group, in charge of Innovation and Technology Governance. In June 2021, such role was enriched with the responsibility for Information Technology and Sustainability. In addition to that, from June 2023 he is also in charge of Research Funding and Digital Engineering for the whole Telespazio Group, being SVP of Research, Digital and Innovation Unit
From 2022 he is Vice President of Space Exploration Commission within “Ordine degli Ingegneri” organization in Roma.
Technical coordinator,
CNES Data Campus
Jean-Marc Delvit received his Ph.D in signal and image processing from Supaéro, France in 2003.
He then worked for the French space agency (CNES) in the field of very high resolution Earth observation satellites design (SPOT, Pléiades, CO3D, Hélios, CSO…).
In 2018, he developed the CNES earth observation lab’ in charge of applications using spatial data, in close collaboration with all the final users (institutional, private, research and defense).
Since 2022, he has ensured the technical coordination of the CNES data campus, a division in charge of all CNES spatial data, from despatialization to final use.
His areas of interest are image processing, in particular photogrammetry issues, data hybridization in Earth observation, analytics and Earth digital twins applied to different thematics (coastal, risk, urban, watershed, specific areas…).
Managing Director,
Airbus Italia
Milena Lerario is Managing Director of Airbus Italia since April 2022, aiming to reinforce the company’s position as a key player in the Italian space industry. She officially began working for Airbus in 2012 in Germany, in the engineering department, where she participated in the repair campaign for the vertical tail plane of the A380; Lerario then moved on to manufacturing and certification of the wings for the A350 between Germany, France and England. Over the years she has worked in management roles in different functions, from Corporate Audit to Human Resources, in different Group locations in Germany, France, England and Spain. In Madrid, she served as Head of Spacecraft Plants Production at national level, implementing a transformation and optimization of the industrial processes of the plants towards greater innovation and digitalization.
A graduate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Pisa, she holds a Master in Business Economics from Bocconi.
Lead Application Engineer,
Ansys
Giuseppe is an Aerospace engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the Aerospace & Defense sector, mainly in the simulation domain. After several year spent as subsystem engineer at Fucino Space Center, he moved to the Telespazio HQ, leading the simulation laboratory and participating to several R&D European founded projects.
From 2013 he joined AGI (now ANSYS), with the following achievements:
– Development of custom application for Space Surveillance Awareness & Tracking
– Space Mission Analysis & Design in any orbit regime: LEO, MEO,GEO and Interplanetary
– Design of Mission Planning System for EO satellites and development of relevant optimization algorithms
– Orbit Determination for LEO, GEO and Lunar Missions
– Ballistic Missile Defense – Interceptor guidance & control
– Cislunar Domain Awareness
Agronomist and Data Scientist,
Agricolus
Alessandro Vignati is an agronomist specialized in precision farming. In particular, he deals with research and development of Decision Support Systems (DSS) for accurate prediction of agrosystem phenomena, such as crop growth, macronutrient removals, disease and pest attacks, by using climate data and satellite images. He started his career in the academic sector and then moved to industry working in Agricolus.
CEO,
Opus Aerospace
Passionate about Space, aerospace engineer from IPSA & completed Challenges+ at HEC Paris. With experience at Airbus/CNRS and the development of experimental rockets with CNES, today he is CEO of Opus Aerospace.
Deputy CEO and SEVP Observation,
Exploration and Navigation,
Thales Alenia Space
Massimo Comparini is Deputy CEO, Senior Executive Vice President Observation, Exploration and Navigation at Thales Alenia Space as well as CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia.
He has a long and proven track record in space industry, from technology to services, and in the earth observation domain; in 2016, he was named CEO of eGeos, a joint venture between Telespazio (80%) and the Italian Space Agency (20%). and Director Line of Business Geo Information at Telespazio.
He was, at the same time, Chairman of GAF and EarthLab Luxembourg.
In 2013, Massimo Comparini was appointed CTO of Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%). He started his career in 1983 at Selenia Spazio (later Alenia Spazio), holding various management positions, up to his position as Chief Technology Officer.
Massimo Comparini holds a Master Degree in Electrical Engineering, Remote Sensing and Radar Systems from the University of Rome La Sapienza, as well as a Degree in Strategy from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.
He is member of the technical-scientific advisory board of the Research, Development and Higher Studies Center in Sardinia -CSR4 – (Italy).
Vice President Exploration and
ScienceDomain,
Thales Alenia Space
Born in Avigliana (TO) the 7th of April 1955, Walter Cugno boasts a 40 years long experience in the development of complex projects in the field of Aerospace, most of all for Space Exploration programs in both manned and robotic configuration.
Across the years he has been taking on assignments with increasing responsibility, from Aeritalia, Alenia Spazio, Alcatel Alenia Space to Thales Alenia Space.
Before the creation of the Joint Venture between Leonardo and Thales, Walter Cugno has served as Program and Operation Manager, acquiring an extensive know how in engineering, design, production & manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing and R&D.
He had significant roles in projects like Spacelab, Tethered Satellite, IRIS, Lageos, Hipparcos and SAX X-ray satellites, acting as Product Assurance Manager, Assembly, Integration and Test manager, Launch Operation Manager and Project Manager.
From 1997 to 2013 served as Program Manager of International Space Station programs, in particular for New NASA Initiative like the Nodes 2 (Harmony) & 3 (Tranquility), the Cupola, the
PMM (Pressurized Multipurpose Module) and the Cygnus Pressurized Cargo Modules.
Since January 1st, 2016 Walter Cugno is Vice President of the Domain Exploration and Science of Thales Alenia Space and Responsible of the activities and the site in Turin. He is also Member of the Steering Board of ALTEC, company jointly owned by Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency.
President,
TerraNIS
Marc holds Master and Doctor (in Digital Signal Processing) engineering diplomas from Ecole Nat Sup des Télécoms (Paris, 1977), and an Executive MBA (HEC/CPA, 1996). Marc has spent around 35 years in the space industry and reached the senior executive management level in EADS Astrium. In 2010, he took the position of Senior Vice President, Strategic Business Development Director at EADS Astrium and he created Astrium Consulting division. Marc Tondriaux left Astrium at the end of January 2014 in order to dedicate his full time on the creation and setup of TerraNIS SAS. Marc is the President of TerraNIS. He is also Chairman of the EARSC association.
Head of Engineering for Services,
Rolls-Royce
Vianello completed his Bachelor and Master´s degree in Aerospace Engineering by University of Padua. Subsequently Vianello has worked for Rolls-Royce in the UK, Canada and Germany gaining technical and leadership expertise across maintenance operations, aftermarket engineering and cost engineering. Currently Vianello leads the Engineering for Services function within Rolls-Royce Electrical.
R&T Aerothermal Engineer,
Capgemini Engineering
Sarhan is an experienced aerospace engineer specializing in space systems and aerothermal engineering, currently serving as a consultant with Capgemini Engineering in Belgium. He has supported the research & technology activities at SAFRAN Aero Boosters, focusing on the development and optimization of thermal systems in engines and aerospace equipment. Previously, he led the coordination of Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration, and Testing (MAIT) activities at SABCA during the qualification campaign for the Thrust Vector Actuation Subsystem, designed for nozzle steering in two critical stages of the Ariane 6 launcher developed by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). He also co-leads partnerships at MISI, a non-profit organization promoting a thriving space science and technology ecosystem in Morocco and Africa through collaborations with academic and industry organizations. Additionally, Sarhan has gained diverse experience across multiple leading companies in the aeronautics, space, and defense sectors, contributing to various capacities that include system design, project management, and technical documentation.
Founder & Partner,
E2MC Ventures
Raphael Roettgen is the founder of E2MC Ventures, a space-focused early-stage venture capital firm. He is also the co-founder of Prometheus Life Technologies, a space biotech startup that was the first startup to win the Orbital Reef innovation challenge.
He lectures on space entrepreneurship and finance at several universities including the International Space University (ISU) and the Swiss Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), hosts the popular Space Business Podcast, and is the author of “To Infinity”, an introductory book on the space economy.
Previously, Mr. Roettgen held senior roles at global investment banks and hedge funds and was also a fintech entrepreneur in Brazil.
He holds degrees in finance from Wharton, machine learning from PUC-Rio and space studies from the International Space University, where he also serves as a governing member. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Luxembourg.
Head of Products,
KP Labs
On-board data processing plays a key role for various missions, from Earth Observation to deep space exploration ensuring higher return on mission thanks to the autonomous operations. As the Head of Products at KP Labs, Helena is responsible for KP Labs products strategy and Smart Mission Ecosystem, which brings together data processing units, embedded software and edge computing to complete the mission. Throughout 10+ years’ journey in bringing products into market, Helena has gathered unique approach working in governmental (European Parliament), non-governmental (NGOs), and commercial (IT, Smart Cities) organizations and now incorporates it into the space industry.
CEO,
Altec
Graduated in Electronic Engineering at Federico II in Naples, he began his activity in the space sector of the then Aeritalia as manager of communication systems and on-board computers for satellites. Previously responsible for scientific projects such as Hipparcos and Integral, he has also worked for the International Space Station. He was Vice President for Science and Exploration of Thales Alenia Space Italia, dealing with the implementation of important European projects such as GOCE, Herschel & Plank and the launch of projects such as: Bepi Colombo, the Solar Orbiter project and the Exomars for the exploration of the red planet. Since 2004 Member of the ISEC « International Space Exploration Committee ». Today Vice-President Marketing & Sales for the institutional activities of Thales Alenia Space Italia and CEO of ALTEC S.p.A.
Partner,
Oliver Wyman
Federico Ucci is a Partner in the Transportation and Aerospace practice of Oliver Wyman. For over 15 years has focused his work on strategy and transformation programs in the Transportation and Aerospace Industry all around Europe.
In particular Federico has led numerous transformation programs in the Space industry, advising Space players on their Strategy, Organization, Product design and cost competitiveness initiatives.
In addition, Federico leads the Space megatrends platform of Oliver Wyman, which encompasses a comprehensive and regularly updated view of all the key trends affecting the space industry in the coming decades.
Federico holds a Master’s in International Management from ESCP Europe, where he has been Strategy Associate Professor and an Executive Program from the Wharton School & INSEAD.
He also holds a Degree in Business Administration from University of Pavia (Italy).
Federico is an Italian native speaker and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Senior veterinary expert,
Experimental Zooprophylactic
Institute of Venice
He’s a senior veterinary expert with 30 years experience in the field of seafood safety and fish, mollusc and crustacean pathology. Currently he is Head of the Laboratory for Safety of Processed Seafood and Director of the National Reference Centre for Fish, Mollusc and Crustacean Diseases at Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), Padova, Italy (www.izsvenezie.it).
Member of SCAR-FISH working group, RTD European Commission, delegate by Italian Ministry of Health;
Founder and now Past President of the Italian Society of Applied Research on Mollusc Farming (SIRAM), www.siram-molluschi.it;
Author of many scientific publications about seafood safety, he has been involved as a peer reviewer in various scientific journals. He published some monographs and wrote book chapters on seafood safety sector.
Contract Professor in various universities: University of Padua, Faculty of Agriculture (Quality and quality control of ichthyic species, 1998-2000; Specialisation School of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Principles and organisation of self-control in aquaculture food products 2002, 2005 and 2008); Course of Marine Biology (Processing technologies and quality evaluation of ichthyic products 2006-2008);). University of Turin, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Storage and processing of fish and fish products and Problems of traditional and innovative products 2012-2013); University of Udine, Specialisation School of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Microbiological safety of seafood products since 2011).
He has been the principal investigator of a number research programmes approved by the Italian Ministry of Health, Enteric virus investigations in bivalves; New diagnostic methods in fish and mollusc pathology; Methods to inactivate enteric virus in seafood products; Biomolecular methods to identifycommercial fish and molluscs species.
Professor,
University of Brescia and director
of the Smart Agrifood
Observatory
Associate Professor of Logistics and Industrial Plants at the University of Brescia, he works as a senior member of the RISE research laboratory (www.rise.it) and since 2016 he has been director of the « Smart AgriFood » research observatory, a initiative of the Polytechnic of Milan and the University of Brescia, focused on the digital transformation of the agrifood supply chain.
GIS specialist,
Experimental Zooprophylactic
Institute of Venice
Matteo Mazzucato works as GIS specialist at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), a public veterinary Institute which conducts prevention, control and research activities on animal health and welfare, food safety, and environmental protection in Italy. Since 2007 he has been working with GIS technologies, mainly focusing on geodatabase management, webGIS development and digital map production in the veterinary field. He previously worked on projects related to several diseases such as Avian Influenza, West Nile, Rabies and Salmonella. In the last few years, he approached the environmental data derived from satellite sensors and stations, applying remote sensing and GIS analyses on the raster data. Thanks to several international projects, he has the opportunity to collaborate in capacity building and training activities.
Secretary General,
European Association of Remote
Sensing Companies (EARSC)
Emmanuel Pajot is the Secretary General of the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC). Geologist, he is a remote sensing specialist with over 19 years of experience in projects and research studies. He joined EARSC in 2017 as a Senior project manager to lead the eoMALL initiative to help companies promote solutions delivered online. He is conducting activities to support SMEs in developing new services and engaging with institutions or communities of users. From 2003 to 2010, he worked as a consultant for the energy company TOTAL, where he implemented numerous projects to map geological features, identify risks for field operations and monitor assets. From 2011 to 2017, he created an Earth Observation team at SPIE Oil & Gas. He performed Business Development for international companies in Europe and US, developing innovative solutions to monitor offshore activities.
Aerospace Engineer,
Officina Stellare
Lorenzo Iannascoli acts as a Mechanical System Engineer at Officina Stellare SpA, which is a renowned global leader in the design and manufacture of complex opto-mechanical instrumentation in the Aerospace, Defense and Astronomical Research sectors. Before joining OS, he worked as System Engineer on a 3Us CubeSat mission called AstroBio CubeSat (ABCS), successfully launched aboard the Vega-C maiden flight in July 2022. He currently works as System Engineer on the EarthNext CubeSat mission, a 16Us CubeSat platform funded and managed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
TRUTHS Payload Manager,
ESA/ESTEC
Dr. Alessandro Zuccaro Marchi graduated in Physics at the University of Padova (Italy). During and after his PhD in Physics at the University of Trieste (Italy), he joined the teams of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (USA) and NASA – Marshall Space Flight Center for development of a cosmic rays space telescope. Successively, he moved to CNR – National Institute of Optics in Florence (Italy), working as post-doc and then as researcher. In that period, he was also Visiting Scientist at RIKEN Computational Astrophysics lab (Japan).
He has been working at ESA/ESTEC in Netherlands since 2011, first as an Optical Engineer and after 2021 as Payload Manager for the TRUTHS Earth Watch mission. During his first job, he was also involved in R&D activities related to cubesats-size optical payloads. For many years he has been in charge of the technical programme of the 4S, ESA’s and CNES’ smallsats and cubesats Symposium.
Acting Special Assistant for
International Integration,
Exploration Systems Development
Mission Directorate (ESDMD),
NASA
In her role as Lead, ESDMD International Integration, Rebekah is responsible for coordinating ESDMD’s relationships with our international partners, leading ESDMD’s early partner bilateral relationships and multilateral engagements. She also supports integration across ESDMD’s international collaborations from pre-formulation in the Strategy and Architecture Office to partnership implementation in the Moon to Mars Program. Rebekah’s career spans nearly three decades in the federal government and includes experience in international policy, human spaceflight programs, law, and leadership of technical organizations. Prior to joining ESDMD, Rebekah was Associate Director and served as acting Deputy Director, Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC).
Rebekah began her career at the Foreign Agricultural Service where she served on U.S. delegations to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and Food and Agriculture Organization; she also coordinated the sub-cabinet level Food Security Working Group which developed the United States’ first global road map for food security. She joined NASA in 2000 as an international relations officer responsible for NASA human spaceflight programs and was a member of the Multilateral Partner Program Team, which renegotiated the ISS implementing agreements following a significant program redesign. Since that time, Rebekah has held a series of progressively more responsible positions at NASA Headquarters and JSC, including Manager, Space Shuttle Management Integration and Planning Office; Chief, Space and Occupational Medicine Branch; and Assistant Director, Human Health and Performance Directorate, where she led SOMD’s Crew Health and Safety Program.
Rebekah holds JD and LLM degrees from the University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) where she is an adjunct professor of legal negotiations. At UHLC, she held the inaugural Scott Chase Health Law Scholarship, and was a Dean’s Scholar, University of Houston Presidential Graduate Fellow, and a member of the Houston Law Review, the Order of the Coif, the Order of the Barons, and the UHLC Moot Court Team. Prior to her legal studies, she received a Ph.D. in diplomatic history from Georgetown University, where she was a University Fellow and Davis Teaching Fellow.
CEO,
STAM
Stefano Carosio is Executive Director at Stam srl, a fast-growing engineering and technology consulting firm recently appointed as the Technology Broker for Italy by the European Space Agency (ESA) to support space technology transfer in close synergy with the Italian Space Agency (ASI). With 28 years of experience spanning diverse industries, he specializes in fostering innovation ecosystems and securing finance for Corporates, SMEs, and deep-tech startups.
Throughout his career, Dr. Carosio has held key positions in both private and public organizations. From 1996 to 2016, he led the Research and Innovation Division at D’Appolonia SpA, top Italian engineering company now part of the multinational Rina Group. There he spearheaded open innovation and collaborative research activities, pioneering space technology transfer and innovation consulting services. From 2017 to 2020, Dr. Carosio acted as General Manager of Unismart Padova Enterprise srl, a « for-profit » company launched by the University of Padova to boost technology transfer. Under his guidance, the company achieved break-even within 18 months, nurturing a membership community of about 100 organizations. This sustainable open innovation model facilitated access to University research teams, laboratories, and IP portfolio, leading to a smooth transition into a University Foundation while expanding its original mission.
Dr. Carosio is co-inventor of patents and has contributed to papers and books in the field of university-industry collaboration and technology transfer in different industrial sectors.
Project Manager,
AIPAS – Association of Italian
Space Enterprises
Jacopo Celentano is Project Manager at AIPAS (Associazione delle Imprese Per le Attività Spaziali), an association of 74 Italian space companies that are active in both the upstream and downstream parts of the space value chain. He is also Secretary General of Cluster EXPLOORE, the association of the space actors based in the Italian region Marche, a recently formed yet rapidly growing association of 24 companies and 5 universities.
Graduate in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs and with a Master in Space Institutions and Policies, Celentano started his 7-year-long experience in the space sector as a communications manager, before specialising in institutional relations and as an industry association manager.
In his roles at AIPAS and EXPLOORE, he represents needs and capabilities of the space industry in several institutional fora and working groups, monitors and analyses national and European space policies, contributes to position papers and studies on industrial policy, and supports member companies (especially SMEs and start-ups) in cooperation and internationalisation activities.
Also engaged in dissemination activities for SME4SPACE (the representative organisation of European space SMEs), Celentano leverages European, national and local perspectives to contribute to a more collaborative and sustainable space sector in Italy and Europe.
Professor, University of Padua and
CEO, T4i,
T4i
Daniele Pavarin is T4i CEO and Associate professor in Aerospace Propulsion at the Department of Industrial Engineering of Padua University. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Measurement in Engineering Science. He started as co-responsible of the CISAS Hypervelocity Impact Facility from 1997 to 2006. He initiates and is responsible of propulsion activities at CISAS and DII at Padua University, which are focused in design development and testing of a propulsion systems ranging from electric to chemicals. In 2014 he founded T4i, which started leading in 2019, as a new challenges to face the real arena of market. Currently T4i is one of the emerging companies in Europe in the development of innovative propulsion systems.
Manager Space Economy
Observation and Navigation,
Thales Alenia Space
Laurea Magistrale in Fisica e Geofisica presso l’Università “La Sapienza” di Roma. Dopo la laurea, ha proseguito i suoi studi come collaboratore tecnico/scientifico per lo studio di modelli termodinamici in diverse applicazioni. Successivamente si è dedica per tre anni allo sviluppo software di nuovi prodotti e dall’89 lavora nel settore spaziale. Negli anni ha svolto diversi ruoli nelle aree di ingegneria, management, strategia e marketing, iniziando come Ingegnere di Sistemi di Telerilevamento, Militari e Civili, e di Navigazione per il programma ESA EGNOS. Responsabile delle unità di Satellite Data Exploitation, New Iniziative, Business Development for Security, Market Intelligence e Area Commerciale EURASIA, attività manageriali a riporto del CEO di Thales Alenia Space Itala. Collabora in team nazionali e internazionali come esperto di Osservazione della Terra e Security, membro dei comitati internazionali International Astronautical Federation (IAF) e membro del COPERNICUS/National User Forum, del comitato tecnico scientifico dell’associazione industriale per la Difesa AFCEA e parte del Comitato Strategico dell’Osservatorio Nazionale Tutela del Mare (ONTM). Nel 2022 è stata insignita con la Stella al Merito del Lavoro (Maestro del Lavoro) e si dedica con passione ai diritti delle dove e alla divulgazione scientifica per promuovere le discipline STEM.
Space Economy and Open
Innovation Advisor
Mr. Dave started his career as IT specialist between Italy, USA and India before managing EU co-funded R&D and Tech. Transf. (TT) initiatives representing public organizations (eg Italian Min. of Econ. Dev., Regional Innovation Agency, etc) and private entities focusing on interaction between Res. and Ind. He designed, launched and directed the “Innovation and TT” Unit at ASI (Italian Space Agency) working on New Space Economy topics, namely start-ups, risk finance and IPR, before becoming Open Innovation advisor to the president and coordinator of the ASI OECD team. He founded the first Space Economy advisory firm in Italy working for regional governments, private companies and startups and is currently member of the board of Global Entrepreneurship Network Space (USA), advisor of Polytechnic of Milan Space Economy observatory and of Italian Institute of Technology Space lab. Since 2022 he is partner of the VC fund ‘Star Tech Venture’.
Mr. Dave has worked in different sectors spamming from textile/clothing to footwear, from logistics to households, from FMCGs to Agro-food and acknowledged in the past as Strategy Advisor for Research organizations in pediatrics hemato-oncology and micro-nano fabrication.
COO, T4i, PoC Hub Veneto WIA-E,
T4i
Elena Toson is COO and Business Development Manager at T4i SpA, an Italian based PMI developing propulsion systems for in-space applications and microlaunchers. Elena is in charge of the company organization and business development activities. Elena has a PhD in Aerospace Engineering with a specialisation in space propulsion and counts more than 15 years of career in the Aerospace sector. She previously worked at the leading space companies such as Thales Alenia Space, Avio Aero and was Business Developer for D-Orbit, a major space company in Italy. Elena is also the PoC of the Hub Veneto WIA-Europe and active as co-chair of the IAC propulsion committee.
Managing Director,
NVISO GmbH
Pierre-Alain is the managing director of NVISO GmbH, part of the NVISO Security Group funded in Brussels in 2013, and is responsible for the customers in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). He has 20 year experience in the field of Cyber Security and has been a penetration tester for more than 12 years. He started his career in Paris and worked at EY as Cyber Security consultant. He moved to Germany in Frankfurt in 2010 and, in October 2018, he started the DACH entity of NVISO, as partner and managing director.
National Defense and Technology
Program Manager,
Starion Group
Mariarosa Argentiero is an Aerospace Engineer and a former Air Force Officer, qualified as a Satellite Engineer for IT MoD Space Systems. She also contributed to the birth and development of Italian Space Operations Command. Mariarosa started working in the Space Industry as Institutional Sales Manager for Thales Alenia Space Italia and is currently National Technology Programme Manager for STARION Italia S.p.A., where she is part of the Business Development team for promoting the use of disruptive technologies (Space, Cyber, AI, MBSE…) towards institutional customers at national and international level. In 2021, she has been selected as a mentor for the UNOOSA Space4Women Mentorship Program.
CEO,
Metodo Ongaro
Filippo Ongaro has been a consultant to astronauts at the European Space Agency for years, dealing in particular with aspects related to nutrition, physical preparation and rehabilitation of crews. He is the founder and CEO of Metodo Ongaro Switzerland SA, a company specialized in coaching, training and in the development of services to improve psychophysical well-being and longevity. From 2000 to 2007 he was an astronaut doctor at ESA and collaborated with NASA, the Russian Space Agency and numerous European and international research centers. By choice, he never wanted to deal with research but with the practical application of innovative approaches to health and psycho-physical performance. He was the first Italian doctor to become certified in anti-aging medicine (ABAARM) and functional medicine (IFM) in the USA. He was Vice President of the Italian Antiaging Doctors Association (AMIA) and founded and directed the first European center entirely dedicated to regenerative and antiaging medicine. He has been an adjunct professor at Tor Vergata, the University of Bologna and King’s College London, and has collaborated with national magazines and newspapers on the topics of health promotion and improvement of psychophysical well-being, also writing numerous bestsellers. Widely followed on social media and on the web, his YouTube channel records hundreds of thousands of subscribers and tens of millions of views. Thousands of people participate in its courses and events every year, including many healthcare professionals. The topics addressed are improving health and lifestyle, change, the formation of new habits, motivation, high performance and personal growth. He has lived and worked in Switzerland for years.
CEO,
Space DOTS Ltd
Stefano Mancuso is one of the world’s leading authorities in studying and disseminating a new truth about plants, intelligent and sensitive creatures capable of choosing, learning and remembering. Full professor at the University of Florence and at Georgofili Academy, he directs the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology with offices in Florence, Kitakyushu, Bonn and Paris, and was the first Italian scientist to be invited in 2010 as a speaker at a TED Global held in Oxford, and later viewed over 1.4 million times on TED website.
In 2014 he founded PNAT, a start-up of the University of Florence, for the creation of technology inspired by plants. In 2016 he won the « Wissenschaftbuck des Jahres » award from the Austrian Ministry of Science and Technology for the best scientific essay of the year. As a writer he made his debut in 2013 with the best-seller Verde brilliante (Giunti), while in 2018 Plant Revolution won the Galileo Prize for scientific non-fiction.
They are followed, with Laterza, by L’incredibile viaggio delle piante (2018), La Nazione delle Piante (2019) winner of the Capalbio Prize and the Earth Prize, La pianta del mondo (2021) winner of the Pozzale Luigi Russo Prize and Fitopolis, la città vivente (2023). In 2022 he published La tribù degli Alberi, his first fiction book, with Einaudi. He is also the author of various podcasts including Di sana Pianta created in 2023 for Chora Media in collaboration with Elastica literary agency. In 2022 he was awarded the Golden Florin, and was appointed scientific director of the newly formed Foundation for the future of cities.
Chef and nutritional &
Nutraceutical Consultant,
Cucina Verticale
Stefano Polato, from Padua, is a chef and nutritional & nutraceutical consultant. Over the last 15 years he has specialized in the choice, preparation and preservation of food, also taking on the challenge of preparing « star menus » for space, where extreme conditions make eating style even more important. Through Argotec of Turin, he took care of the preparations for various space missions, such as that of Samantha Cristoforetti, astronaut and Italian pride, as well as for the missions of Luca Parmitano, Andreas Mogensen and Paolo Nespoli, acquiring fundamental experience in his studio on the properties of foods. His career led him to develop the concept of « vertical cooking », a method that has allowed the hundreds of people following his courses to achieve a greater state of well-being through food and cooking.
Managing Advisor,
Beyond Enterprizes
David Orban, born in Budapest, studied Physics at the University of Milan and the University of Padua, and today holds the role of Managing Advisor of Beyond Enterprizes, a consultancy firm that offers strategic and technical leadership skills, consultancy and support to projects in all phases of blockchain and the implementation and development of new technologies. He has held over 100 conferences around the world for many different organizations, such as Cisco, Oracle, Roche, E&Y, Accenture, ENEL, Intesa, Banca Sella, Mediolanum, Internet Advertising Bureau, European Foundation for Management Development and H -Farm. He was the keynote speaker at the first Ethereal Summit in May 2017 in New York, bringing an inspiring vision of how Blockchain technologies will catalyze a change in the socio-economic organization of our societies, and then in March 2018 at Blockchain Unbound in Puerto Rico, where he detailed the emancipation and empowerment that non-zero-sum technologies are spreading around the world. He is the author of Singolarità. Con che velocità arriverà il futuro (Hoepli, 2015) on the role of artificial intelligence in our society. David’s work overcomes the limits of specialization to contribute to a new renaissance, as he explains: “My vision is at the intersection of technology and society and their co-evolution.”
Senior Advisor for Strategic
Evolution and Chief Diversity
Officer,
ESA
Ersilia Vaudo Scarpetta is an astrophysicist, who has worked since 1991 at the European Space Agency, where she currently holds the roles of Senior Advisor for Strategic Evolution and Chief Diversity Officer in Paris. During her career she held various roles, and worked for 4 years at the ESA office in Washington DC (USA), where she was in charge of relations with NASA. In 2022 she was the curator of the XXII International Exhibition of the Triennale di Milano on the theme “Unknown Unknowns. An introduction to mysteries”. She is President and co-founder of the Association « Il Cielo itinerante » to promote STEM literacy by bringing « the sky where it does not reach », with a telescope on a minibus and STEM camps, among boys and girls in areas of hardship and educational poverty. In 2023 she published with Einaudi Mirabilis Cinque intuizioni (più altre in arrivo) che hanno rivoluzionato la nostra idea di Universo.