2017 Roundtable on Value and Benefit Creation in Commercial Space

In October 2016 SWF and the Heinlein Prize Trust (HPT) organized the Roundtable on Value Creation in Commercial Space at the Explorers’ Club in New York City. In 2017, working in partnership with the space law practice group at Reed Smith LLP, SWF and HPT organized the second in the annual Roundtable series in Washington, DC.

The one-day invite-only Roundtable convened the commercial space community and the institutional and investment banking community for discussion of creating, measuring, and sustaining long-term value and benefit from commercial space development. 

The event took a Roundtable approach with moderated discussions between a small group (apx. 50-60) of invited participants. The event consisted of a series of three “Discussions” each focusing on a thematic topic. Each Discussion began with short presentations from invited speakers. A moderated dialogue between all attendees and participants followed, aiming to identify the questions, challenges, and opportunities surrounding efforts to create and sustain commercial ventures and value in each area. The Roundtable concluded with a Capstone Discussion of cross cutting and common elements.

Discussion Themes and Speakers

Master Moderator: Ramin Khadem, Former CFO of Inmarsat, PLC

Discussion 1:  Recap and Update – 2016 to 2017

• Moderator: Ramin Khadem, Former CFO of Inmarsat, PLC 
• Speaker 1: Adil Jafry, Chairman and CEO, Chandah Space Technologies 
• Speaker 2: Sidney N. Nakahodo, Co-founder and CEO, New York Space Alliance

Discussion 2:  Business Models Beyond LEO and GEO

• Moderator: Bernard Kutter, Chief Scientist and Manager Advanced Programs, United Launch Alliance
• Speaker 1: James Muncy, Washington Representative, Moon Express, Inc. 
• Speaker 2: Ethan Hasse, Commercial Market Lead, Blue Origin

Discussion 3:  Financiers Perspective

• Moderator: Jose H. Ocasio-Christian, Chief Executive Officer, Caelus Partners, LLC 
• Speaker 1: Chris Kunstadter, Senior Vice President and Global Underwriting Manager - Space, XL Catlin 
• Speaker 2: Matt O'Connell, President, MOC Partners 

Event Materials

Link to full Agenda

Registration

Participation was by invite only. 

Contact Information

For more information, contact:

Ian Christensen, Project Manager, Secure World Foundation, ichristensen@swfound.org

Michael Simpson, Executive Director, Secure World Foundation, msimpson@swfound.org