Preston Dunlap
Preston Dunlap has over 20 years of executive leadership experience across technology, national security, and private investment. He is the founder of Arkenstone Ventures, serves on Boards and as Lead Independent Director of Pixxel Space Technologies, advises Fortune 100 and growth companies, private equity, venture capital, and institutions such as RAND, Stanford, and MIT and is a Senior External Advisor at Bain & Company.
He led the Defense Department’s Investment Committee strategy, analysis, and diligence for the Secretary of Defense to allocate and deploy $750B+ annually in industry sectors supporting national security, such as infrastructure, services, space, cybersecurity and software, AI, communications, transportation and logistics, ships, aircraft, vehicles, and weapons.
Mr. Dunlap started $250B+ of new programs with 4 Secretaries of Defense, including the newly unveiled B-21 bomber, Hypersonic Prompt Strike, classified space and intelligence, and Joint All-Domain Command and Control programs.
He led initiatives with the Vice President of the United States and Cabinet on the future of commercial, civil, and national security space, transformed federal Venture Capital investment, was the first Chief Technology Officer of the Space Force and Air Force with $75B of products, and served on the ground floor of successful software and infrastructure companies.
He holds a Master of Science in Operations Research and Management Science from George Mason University, a Bachelor’s degree in both Computer Science and Political Science from Duke University, and was a Harvard National Security Executive Fellow.
Mr. Dunlap is frequently cited as an authority in international media and as an expert witness for the United States Congress. His awards include the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, Secretary of the Air Force Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, and Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.
Maj. Sean Allen
Major Sean P. Allen, USSF BACKGROUND: 16 yrs in Space Domain Awareness, Space Defense, OPIR, & SATCOM. Created the SDA TAP Lab to accelerate battle management solutions and stir innovation across industry, academia, and government. Inspired adoption of data science best practices & algorithm benchmarking for space. Established a globally deployed daytime LEO-tracking telescope program – R&D concept turned Presidentially directed program. Highly Qualified Mission Director at National Space Defense Center (NSDC). Led scientists, developers, and hardware experts building orbital threat warning applications, sensor network scheduling and orbit determination algorithms at various classification levels.
ASSIGNMENTS: Born in Omaha, Nebraska. Graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2008. Commissioned into the United States Air Force in 2008.
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4th Space Operations Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
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50th Operations Support Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
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533d Training Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, California
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Joint OPIR Planning Center (JOPC), Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado
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Space Security & Defense Program (SSPD), Colorado Springs, Colorado
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National Space Defense Center (NSDC), Colorado Springs, Colorado
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Chief, Space Domain Awareness TAP Lab, Colorado Springs, Colorado
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION:
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Program Management Professional Course, PMI | 2024
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Applied Cryptography CS5920, UCCS | 2024
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Crash Course in Data Science, John Hopkins University | 2021
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Space Situational Awareness, Aerospace Corp Professional Course | 2018
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GEOINT Professional Certification Level 1 | 2016
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Leadership Organizational Effectiveness, School of Leadership Management | 2016
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Advanced Orbital Mechanics, Space 100, 200, 300, & Acquisition 101 via Defense Acquisition University, National Security Space Institute | 2008 – 2018
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Bachelor of Arts, Univ of Hawaii | 2008
AWARDS:
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Marquis Who’s Who Honoree | Feb 2024
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Field Grade Officer of the Quarter | 2022
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Team of the Quarter | 2021
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Field Grade Officer of the Year | 2020
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National Intelligence Innovation Award | 2018
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National Intelligence Professional Award | 2017
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Instructor of the Year | 2014
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Crew of the Year | 2012
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National Defense Service Medal
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Joint Meritorious Unit Award
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Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
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Air and Space Campaign Medal – 1 device
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Air Force Training Ribbon
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Air Force Special Duty Ribbon
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Air Force Outstanding Unit Award – 1 device
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Air Force Commendation Medal -1 device
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AF Longevity Service – 1 device
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National Meritorious Unit Citation
Assi Friedman
Assi Friedman, Innoflight.
Mr. Friedman is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Innoflight. Mr. Friedman has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration in new product development, both from Arizona State University.
Mr. Friedman’s early experience is rooted in passion for Amateur and University class microsats that dates back to the early 1990’s. Professionally, that experience evolved to support dozens of commercial and government space missions.
Mr. Friedman has experience designing SmallSat subsystems, spacecraft systems, and missions. He brings extensive low-cost, low-power, cross disciplinary design techniques from the commercial sectors and successfully implements them in the government sector to meet stringent performance and quality requirements.
Mr. Friedman’s passion is wireless communications systems together with strong emphasis in networking and cyber-security disciplines. He is proud to be a part of the space revolution of the past decade, and looks forward to architecting the next generation of communications and cyber-security solutions.
Karl Fuchs
Karl Fuchs joined iDirect Government in 2004 as the Director of Sales Engineering, just as the satellite-based IP communications company was expanding its very small aperture satellite (VSAT) market presence into the federal government and international Internet Protocol (IP) networking world. He now works as the Sr. Vice President of Technology.
With more than 25 years of experience in technology and with the federal government, Fuchs leads iDirect Government’s team of federal sales engineers, hardware engineers, software engineers, and serves as chief architect for new product integration.
Prior to joining iDirect Government, Fuchs was Director of Systems Engineering at Nortel Networks, where he oversaw the Verizon account team of systems engineers, leading the design of IP, Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) networks. Before joining Nortel, he designed IP and ATM networks for Sprint and the federal government.
Active in the satellite industry for more than 20 years, Fuchs has contributed editorial to numerous publications including Federal Computer Week, Institute for Defense and Government Advancement, COTS Journal, Military Information Technology, Via Satellite, MILSATCOM and Satellite Evolution Global. In addition, he has been a featured speaker at leading industry events including the DoD SATCOM User Workshop, ISCe, IBC, Pacific Telecommunications Council and Emergency Management Talks.
Fuchs holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. and an MBA from Averett University, Danville, Va.
Christian Keil
Christian is the Vice President of External Relations at Astranis. He joined Astranis in 2019 and was quickly tapped as the company’s first Chief of Staff, a role that he held for four years. Christian piloted and scaled a number of business teams including finance, recruiting, government sales, and more. His current portfolio includes regulatory affairs, government relations, international relations, public relations, and marketing.
Before Astranis, Christian served as a management consultant at Deloitte, where he focused on major strategic initiatives for domestic and international telecommunications clients. Key project engagements included developing tools, tactics, and competitive intelligence for a $10 billion purchase of wireless spectrum, providing executive strategic support for an $85 billion merger, and managing CFIUS compliance for a $22 billion acquisition.
Christian earned an MBA from UC Berkeley and a B.S. from the University of Michigan.
Jesper Noer
With over two decades in technology and communications, Jesper Noer is a seasoned leader in the satellite communications industry. As Vice President, Commercial at GateHouse Satcom, Jesper leads global business development and market expansion, ensuring cutting-edge satellite solutions meet the evolving needs of a dynamic industry. His career highlights include shaping the future of satellite connectivity through strategic partnerships and innovative projects.
Jesper’s expertise is particularly evident in the advancement of 5G NB-IoT NTN and 5G New Radio NTN technologies. At GateHouse Satcom, he has played a pivotal role in developing solutions that extend the Internet of Things (IoT) into non-terrestrial networks (NTN), enabling reliable and scalable IoT applications even in remote and underserved regions.
At the 2025 SmallSat Symposium, Jesper will offer valuable insights into these technologies, delving into how NB-IoT NTN is transforming IoT ecosystems and how 5G NR NTN enables robust, high-performance communication links for applications such as autonomous vehicles, smart agriculture, and global supply chains. His leadership in integrating satellite technologies with terrestrial networks positions him as a key voice in addressing the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world.
Beyond his commercial acumen, Jesper is a passionate advocate for fostering collaboration within the space tech ecosystem. His forward-thinking approach reflects GateHouse Satcom’s commitment to innovation and excellence. Attendees can expect a blend of technical depth and strategic vision that sheds light on the future of satellite-enabled connectivity.