Recent headlines on current Low Earth Orbit (LEO) projects including SpaceXGoogle's Starlink, Amazon's Kuiper and Telesat have brought this technology into public focus. The communications landscape has changed significantly from the 90's when the last wave of satellite investment took place. COVID-19 has highlighted the critical nature of residential broadband connectivity; the evolution through 3G, 4G/LTE and now 5G mobile communications has also normalized always-on connectivity for consumers and enterprises.

Will the ability of LEO constellations to deliver high capacity, low latency connectivity services to underserved areas be enough to commercially justify the massive investment required? On the technology side, what will be required to enable connectivity, coordination and support of systems with potentially 1000s of satellites, particularly with respect to optical systems?

This session will explore key technology and business aspects of the latest wave of LEO satellite communications projects while also exploring the risks and challenges ahead as the sector seeks to invest billions in these ventures.

This is a pre-event webinar for the 2021 OIDA Executive Forum. To view more information about our main event, visit the event website.

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Speakers

Becky Bosco, Moderator

Executive Director & Market Analyst, LightCounting Market Research

Becky Bosco is an award-winning, accredited marketing and communications strategist with more than 20 years of experience in optical communications. Becky is a trusted advisor to senior leadership, internal and external clients alike with strategic skills matched by impeccable on-the-ground savvy and tactical abilities.

In addition to her work at LightCounting, Becky is adjunct faculty at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies in the Masters of Public Relations and Corporate Communications program. She's a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California specializing in Organizational Change and Leadership. She has an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University and a BSBA in International Marketing from American University, Washington D.C. As an active member of the Public Relations Society of America, she served as the 2014 President for the National Capital Chapter, the largest PRSA chapter in the United States. In 2018, she was elected a senior member of The Optical Society (OSA) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Photonics Cluster (FPC).

Chris Daehnick

Senior Solution Leader & Associate Partner​, McKinsey & Company

Chris leads Radar, McKinsey’s aerospace and defense market analytics platform. In this role he oversees analytics and software development, serves as a subject matter expert, leads specialized client engagements, and provides direct customer sales, training, and support. He is an expert on the US defense markets and systems, and both government and commercial space systems, with experience in growth strategy, business development, and program analysis. Chris leads a team of industry analysts and technologists responsible for development of the Radar analytics platform serving the strategic, market, and operational needs of dozens of global clients.

Laurent Jaffart

Vice President - Head of Strategy, Corporate and New Business Development​, Airbus

Laurent is currently the Head of Strategy, Corporate and New Business Development of Airbus Defence and Space for Space Systems. He formally was the Head of Constellation and Future solution for Space Systems Marketing and Sales.

Laurent leads a trans-national team based in France, Germany, in the UK. The aim of his organization is to define and implement the strategy for Airbus Space, bringing new (financial and product) solutions and innovation on the market.

He led constellation bids successfully including the OneWeb massive constellation of telecommunication satellites and the creation of the Joint Venture - Airbus OneWeb Satellites - to design and manufacture constellation satellites amongst other opportunities. He seats on the Board of various space start-ups.

Laurent Jaffart holds a Masters in National Resources Strategy from the National Defense University in Washington DC USA (2013), two Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the former ESC Reims (Reims Management School - France) and Dublin City University (2002) and a Bachelor of Sciences (Hons) in European Business and Technology from the University of Brighton in the UK (2000).

Barry Matsumori

CEO, BridgeComm, Inc.

Barry A. Matsumori is CEO of BridgeComm, Inc. His extensive background in the mobile wireless and Space 2.0 sectors spans numerous leadership roles, among them serving as senior vice president of business development and advanced concepts at Virgin Galactic, senior vice president of sales and business development at SpaceX and nearly two decades at Qualcomm, where he was vice president of wireless connectivity. He has also worked with several early-stage technology companies in development and management capacities.

Barry is an inspirational CEO that is leading this Denver-based company to change the way in which data is transmitted and received globally to address connectivity solutions for space, air, and ground communications. The company has achieved significant funding under Barry’s leadership and is changing the communications industry dynamics by developing advanced capabilities in optical communications. These developments are leading to product offerings in optical point to multipoint communications as well as the ability to offer optical beam steering without the need for a gimbal. All this achieved with data speeds reaching 100 gigabits.  Additionally, Barry and the BridgeComm team are in partnership with Boeing and Nokia on advancing optical communications products. Barry holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Arizona State University and earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arizona.

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