Ahsun Murad
Ahsun Murad is the President and CEO of Optimal Satcom, which he co-founded as a spin-off from Lockheed Martin and Comsat in 2002. Over the last 22 years since its founding, Optimal Satcom has grown to support a large segment of the satellite industry with industry-leading enterprise-level software products and systems for resource management, service planning, optimization, and business intelligence. Over 15 satellite operators, 20 of the largest satellite service providers, and major US Government DoD and civilian agencies use Optimal Satcom products and systems today.
As a world expert in satellite communications technology with over 30 years’ experience, Mr. Murad advises satellite companies and governments on satellite system design, application of emerging technologies, and formulating policy decisions. Before founding Optimal Satcom, Mr. Murad held management positions at Lockheed Martin and COMSAT Laboratories. In these positions, he headed the development of products for transmission planning and satellite capacity management and was the lead system architect for a number of commercial SATCOM and MILSATCOM projects.
Before joining COMSAT Laboratories, Mr. Murad worked at the NASA Center for Satellite and Hybrid Communications Networks where he was involved in research and development related to hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile communications systems, and complex multi-satellite systems. Mr. Murad graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Chris Badgett
Chris Badgett is Vice President of Technology for the Kratos Space, Training and Cybersecurity Division. In this role, Chris sets the vision, technology strategy, and direction for the portfolio of Kratos Space products. He is driving strategic solutions for secure and protected, virtualized satellite ground for military and commercial applications.
Chris is also responsible for developing strategies to provide Communications Superiority for our Warfighters. This includes secure tactical Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems for Department of Defense, Civil, Intelligence Community, and commercial customers with a focus on protected waveforms, Common Data Link (CDL) waveforms, and ISR ground systems.
Prior to joining Kratos, Chris served in the Air Force as a Weapons Engineer in the Air Force Research Lab. He also worked in the Space Development and Test Wing as a Program Manager for a satellite system developed by Ball Aerospace.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science in Space Systems from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Charles Rath
Charles Rath is the President + CEO of RS21, an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company three years in a row and Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators. Created with the desire to help businesses and communities prepare for a dynamic and changing world, RS21 harnesses the power of data to help people make better, faster, smarter decisions.
Charles is a global thought leader in data science and artificial intelligence, regularly speaking at prestigious events such as the EY Strategic Growth Forum. Named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2020 Mountain Desert Region Award Winner and one of the Top U.S. Executives to watch in 2019, Charles brings a unique perspective on the future of technology, with a particular focus on doing good with data.
Under Charles’s leadership, RS21 has been nationally recognized for its SPAICE Resiliency Tool for satellite fault prediction. The AI-driven predictive maintenance and diagnostics tool has been accepted into the DoD Tradewind Solutions Marketplace for rapid acquisition of AI/ML technologies and the Catalyst Accelerator for AI/ML Space and Maritime Solutions. It was also part of NewSpace Ignitor, the Hyperspace Challenge, and received $1.5 million in funding for R&D and operationalization through Small Business Innovation Research grants from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
Charles has positioned RS21 as a leader in innovative data analytics, supporting efforts in space, healthcare, defense, safety, urban planning, energy, cyber, land use, climate, disaster preparedness, disaster recovery, and social equity.
Prior to RS21, Charles led the Resilient Cities Program at Sandia National Laboratories. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from American University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s from the University of Missouri.
John White
John leads space products for Aitech Systems where he defines new product development and business development strategies. Leaning on his space experience, John provides support to the business development team and to customer to translate their needs to COTS base system solutions.
John brings 30 years of manned space experience which includes the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and Blue Origin. He also led IRAD and CRAD programs for all of McDonnell Douglas. John has 9 awarded patents, has been published in IEEE, SAE and other industry white papers and has received several honors for technology advancement from these organization.