Dara A. Panahy
As leader of the firm’s Transportation and Space Group in Washington, D.C., Dara’s practice involves representation of satellite operators, aerospace manufacturers, launch services providers, communications companies, banks, private equity firms and hedge funds in debt and equity offerings, project, structured and vendor financings, mergers & acquisitions, financial restructurings and in negotiating commercial contracts. He also advises on regulatory, sanctions, anti-corruption, national security and export control matters.
Primary Focus & Experience
Mr. Panahy’s practice focuses on representing clients involved in the aerospace and communications industries. His experience includes representing satellite operators, aerospace manufacturers, launch services providers, communications companies, banks, private equity firms and hedge funds in numerous financings involving public offerings, high yield debt, investment grade bonds, project and vendor financings, mergers & acquisitions, financial restructuring and reorganizations and in negotiating project contracts. He also counsels clients on domestic and international regulatory and trade matters, including licensing of communications systems, economic sanctions, regulation of foreign direct investment, anti-bribery and corrupt practices, national security and export control laws and regulations and risk management.
Tom Barton
Tom Barton is the co-founder and CEO of Antaris, an early-stage satellite software innovator backed by Lockheed Martin Ventures, Acequia, Possible Ventures and E2MC. Tom and team created Antaris in 2021 with a vision to revolutionize Software for Space—including leveraging open APIs and open source to dramatically reduce costs and time-to-orbit for satellites. The company is widely considered a New Space disruptor for the satellite ecosystem and has closed deals with some of the industry’s most recognized leaders.
Tom previously served as COO of satellite leader Planet Labs for three years and was a member of the leadership team responsible for putting the largest imaging satellite constellation in history into orbit. He was also CEO of Diamanti, Rackable Systems and Cygnus Solutions and has held senior leadership roles at Red Hat and Lightspeed Venture Partners. He holds both a B.S. and M.B.A. from Stanford University.
Tom has extensive speaking and video interview experience and has shared the stage with notable technology luminaries for the better part of two decades. Recent speaking engagements include:
Tina Ghataore
Tina is Mynaric’s Chief Commercial Officer, as well as the President of Mynaric USA. An aerospace industry veteran with 20 years’ experience in airborne and satellite communication and connectivity, Tina’s career has taken in senior roles at Yahsat, Panasonic Avionics, and The Boeing Company.
Tina has additionally helped shape connectivity strategies at Airbus and Thales, as well as at new space satellite start-ups. Tina manages all customer-facing activities, ensuring the launch of our products in the various geographical and industrial target markets.
Kartik Seshadri
Kartik Seshadri, vice president at Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), leads the company’s global service delivery of broadband products for international customers. In this capacity, he manages large networks for Hughes customers, bringing together end users, service operators and Hughes engineering teams to meet customers’ evolving needs in global communications and networking.
Throughout his career, Mr. Seshadri has worked across the Hughes business from network engineering to product line management to marketing for international enterprise and operator markets. Prior to his current role, Mr. Seshadri worked on the Hughes HN/HX satellite ground system, collaborating closely with international and domestic companies to tailor network solutions to their needs. Previously, he led the network engineering team supporting wideband time division multiple access (TDMA), and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite network projects.
Mr. Seshadri holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, USA. Mr. Seshadri speaks frequently on satellite solutions for bridging the digital divide.
Consumers, businesses, governments and communities around the world benefit from the connected experiences enabled by Hughes technologies and services.
Dr. Vagan Shakhgildian
Vagan Shakhgildian was named President of Comtech Satellite Networks Technologies Corp. (a Canadian Corporation) on January 3, 2022. Previously he held various senior management positions at Comtech, including CEO of Memotec. Vagan first joined Comtech in March 2021, as part of the acquisition of Canada-based UHP Networks. As the CEO of UHP Networks, he led the company from a virtual start-up to a market leader in high-performance VSAT systems.
Prior to that Dr. Shakhgildian was the President and COO of Advantech Wireless, Head of Research at Adaptive Broadband and held senior R&D positions with Motorola and Signal Processors. Dr. Shakhgildian holds advanced degrees in mathematics and electronic engineering, as well as an MBA from the London Business School.
Al Tadros
| Al Tadros is the chief technology officer at Redwire. In this role, he is focused on making strategic investments that support Redwire’s customers, advancing technology development and commercialization, and maintaining a nimble and collaborative technical culture. Previously, Al was chief growth officer and executive vice president of space infrastructure at Redwire. In this role, he oversaw the company’s long-term growth strategy and business development activities, and was responsible for advancing development, increasing adoption, and building momentum for Redwire’s mission-enabling capabilities within civil, defense and commercial space sectors. With nearly three decades of experience as an aerospace executive, Al is a thought leader in on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing with a proven track record in maturing satellite and space systems programs for exploration, national security, and commercial innovation. Previously, he served as Vice President of Space Infrastructure and Civil Space at Maxar Technologies where he led significant innovation in next-generation spacecraft design and space infrastructure, integrating robotics and on-orbit satellite manufacturing, servicing, and assembly capabilities. Over the course of his career at Maxar, he participated in 13 missions and launch campaigns, many of which deployed cutting-edge communications and remote sensing systems Al has worked with both commercial enterprises and government agencies to develop space systems for communications, satellite servicing, remote sensing, and exploration. An authority in on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing, Al holds patents in the field of attitude control systems and was responsible for early telerobotics research for the International Space Station. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). |