Speakers

Awais Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Pixxel, a space data company building a constellation of the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral earth imaging satellites and the analytical tools to mine insights from the data. Awais conceptualized and founded Pixxel in 2019 while still pursuing undergraduate studies at a university in India to build a global space technology startup that could help bring the benefits of space down to earth and build a health monitor for the planet.

Jarkko Antila is the CEO of Kuva Space, a pioneering Finnish Earth observation company. A deep-tech entrepreneur with a strong track record in product innovation, fundraising, and leadership, he has led technology teams at VTT and Inficon. Jarkko co-founded Spectral Engines, a spectral sensor company, serving as CEO for six years before its successful exit. Before joining Kuva Space, he founded Leaping Boulder, a deep-tech consultancy firm. With a Master’s in Space Technology, he has contributed to satellite missions like OMI and Aalto-1. Jarkko’s expertise and passion for space technology drive innovation and growth at Kuva Space.

Jussi Koski is the Chief Product Officer in UP42, building a platform and marketplace for Earth observation data together with a strong ecosystem of partners. He has over 20 years of experience on maps, location services and navigation applications, lastly as VP of Location Services in HERE Technologies. Before joining UP42 he served as CPO of Logmore, focused on supply-chain visibility and safe transportation of sensitive goods.

Mark Mozena, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Global Government Affairs for Planet. In this role, Mark leads Planet’s government relations and policy teams focused on supporting the U.S. Government and international partner nations. Before joining Planet, Mark worked for United Launch Alliance where he handled the civil space portfolio. Prior to ULA, Mark worked for Congressman Michael Honda (D-Silicon Valley, CA) where he managed the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee for the Subcommittee’s Ranking Member. Before working on Capitol Hill, Mark received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of California where his research focused on galaxy evolution.

Dr. Sarah B. Kapnick is the Global Head of Climate Advisory at J.P. Morgan, advising clients on climate, energy, biodiversity, and sustainability. She oversees the firm’s climate thought leadership strategy, leveraging scientific expertise to guide content and advise at the intersection of finance, climate science, commerce, and national security. Previously, she served as Chief Scientist at NOAA, appointed by the President, where she guided the agency’s science and technology priorities. In this role, she led strategies on climate intervention, greenhouse gas monitoring, marine biodiversity, climate macroeconomics, and climate security, shaping critical scientific initiatives for emerging global challenges.

Mr. Adam Maher serves as Founder & CEO of Ursa Space Systems Inc (Ursa), whose services enable users to research, monitor, search, and discover changes in physical objects around the globe, from the perspective of space. Ursa Space’s platform orchestrates the collection, analytics, and fusion of data from a virtual constellation of radar, optical, and RF satellites to automate and abstract the complicated process of gaining access to, processing, and fusing satellite data with terrestrial data sources. At Ursa Space Systems Inc., he uses his knowledge of the satellite industry to fuel his vision of a living world map, where the connection between satellites and users is no longer complicated or difficult, and users are empowered to make better decisions with better data.

Alex Kaplan leads strategy for parametric solutions and bespoke coverages at Amwins, a specialty insurance brokerage. Previously, he spent 12 years at Swiss Re, most recently as Head of North America for Public Sector Solutions, helping governments manage financial risks related to natural disasters and climate change. He co-developed a patented parametric windstorm insurance mechanism and pioneered innovative insurance solutions. Kaplan began his career in government, serving on staff of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and later as an advisor to US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Annalee Tai is a Product Manager at Swiss Re, specializing in parametric insurance. She holds a BA in Geoscience from Williams College, focusing on flood hazard mapping. Annalee has worked on local flood risk reduction in New Zealand and launched disaster insurance products across North America, Asia, and Africa. Her projects include parametric flood insurance for smallholder farmers in Mozambique, flood insurance for rice farmers in the Philippines. She has collaborated with the UN on flood hazard mapping, contributing to climate resilience and disaster response globally.

Berend is responsible for Planet's Insurance and Finance clients globally. Supporting clients on insurance and finance product design and ensuring continuity of service delivery. Planet Labs is providing unique data and insights for insurers with around 200 satellites that are scanning the whole earth on a daily basis, and have done so since 2017. Insurers use this data to improve claim assessments, check properties, monitor collateral and building progress as well as be an independent source of ESG ratings for banks and insurance firms.

Chris is a seasoned Product Leader at Nearmap, specializing in geospatial solutions. He leads the strategy, development, and release of solutions derived from Nearmap’s cutting-edge aerial imagery products, including the Nearmap Sync Core technology and the ImpactResponse Program, which delivers high-resolution imagery and GeoAI-driven feature extraction to detect damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. Before joining Nearmap in 2023, Chris held Product leadership roles at Descartes Labs, where he launched award-winning mineral exploration software designed for spectral and exploration geologists in the mining industry. He also led the development of Moody’s RMS Location Intelligence API and Risk Data solutions.

Cole Swain is the Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships at Tomorrow.io, leveraging 10+ years in climate tech, business and software development, and product/go-to-market innovation.

Ed Haas joined reThought Flood in October 2019, charged with risk assessment, mitigation, and engineering consultation. Ed previously was with Marsh Risk Consulting for over twenty years as SVP, with a focus on natural hazard modeling and construction for the largest clients. Ed was the MRC leader in the Marsh Real Estate Practice and served as risk advisor to the largest clients. At reThought he works with teams to create exacting means for focused risk assessment, and practical defenses.

Elizabeth Foughty is a GTM strategy consultant with 15+ years of experience across insurance, Earth Observation, and AI. She’s helped launch EO missions, led GTM at startups, and built products from platforms to mobile apps to cyber models. Elizabeth has worked with organizations like NASA, Planet, CAPE Analytics, and RMS (now Moody's) to help the industry see, understand, and price risk more clearly. She brings clarity to complexity and momentum to new ideas, operating at the intersection of innovation and execution.

Gavin Schmidt is the Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and was the acting Senior Climate Adviser to the NASA Administrator in 2021. He currently works on the simulation of climate in the past, present, and possible futures and has over 160 peer-reviewed publications.

Ian is a Systems Engineer specializing in remote sensing and in situ instrumentation for studies of atmospheric & Earth sciences. He most recently focusing on small satellite technology and missions. Ian has also directed a multitude of complex airborne field campaigns focused on process level understanding of the dynamic Earth System. Program Manager and Lead Mentor for JPL’s New Space Accelerator and Venture Capital Program that works with new start-up companies for the commercialization of Space Economy and Earth observing related technologies.

Jordan Byk is product owner for property/building attribute databases and data quality metrics, and supports a team of product owners of global geocoding, peril rating databases, and manmade and natural catastrophe hazard, risk score, loss cost data available via API and within applications. The products support the insurance and real estate markets efforts to understand risk and determine mitigation strategies. Over the last 17 years at Risk Management Solutions and Moody’s, Jordan has managed a broad range of products, including industry exposure and loss databases, and application for exposure management, geocoding, and weather derivatives pricing.

Julio Herrera Estrada is a Vice President and Lead Data Scientist in the Aladdin Financial Engineering team within BlackRock where he leads the development of models to quantify global wildfire and drought risks of financial assets. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2021, Julio held positions at Descartes Labs as an Applied Scientist, at Stanford University as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Earth System Science, and at the World Bank as a Short-Term Consultant in Disaster Risk Management. Julio holds a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University and a BS in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University.

Priscilla is a combiner of disciplines, found at the intersections of physical risk, technology, insurance, policy, and finance. Priscilla strives to solve big problems like insurance affordability in the face of climate adaptation. She has migrated from the backrooms of engineering to front of the house, as an organizer and thought leader.

Srinath has over 15 years of experience in data science and analytics within the fields of geospatial sciences, transportation systems planning and supply-chain optimization. He has a diverse set of experience in consulting, research and product development having worked with various federal and state agencies. As a Senior Director of Geospatial Science at Cotality, his team supports development Srinath at CoreLogic serves as a Senior Director of Geospatial Sciences in product development related to geospatial intelligence solutions and hazard risk scores mapping related to insurance, real-estate and location intelligence industries.

Subit is VP of Technology at Floodbase where he manages a team of scientists and engineers with the goal of producing high-quality maps of peak flood extent relevant to the needs of disaster responders, flood managers, and insurers. His technical expertise and interest is in developing novel spatio-temporal machine learning methods applicable for large-scale earth imagery. Prior to Floodbase, Subit worked as a data scientist at Indigo Agriculture and Telluslabs on machine learning-based mapping of crop types, regenerative farming practices and crop yields using satellite imagery.

With over 20 years of experience in weather, technology, and business leadership, Travis Hartman is a results-driven, people-first leader passionate about turning complex challenges into smart, customer-focused solutions. As General Manager of WeatherDesk at Vaisala, Hartman leads a high-performing team spanning operations, science, and product development. Holding a degree in Meteorology from Penn State and an MBA from the University of Maryland, Hartman is dedicated to blending data, technology, and strategy to drive growth, deliver value, and create lasting impact — all while having some fun along the way.

Victor Bouton leads the data science team at Liberty Mutual Re’s Agriculture & Parametrics division. His team provides crucial support to the underwriting department, spanning risk assessment to product design. With a background in actuarial sciences, Victor has specialized early in parametric insurance across diverse environments, including broking, consulting, and reinsurance. Throughout his professional career he has been participating to the development of innovative solutions in agronomic, weather, and natural catastrophe modeling for index-based insurance.

Anthony Schultz is the Director of Wildland Fire Solutions at Esri. His background is in wildland fire management and operations. He has served variety of capacities, most recently as the Fire Management Officer for the State of Wyoming. He has also served as an FMO with the State of North Dakota and was a wildland firefighter for several federal agencies.

Anu Swatantran is a passionate earth scientist with more than two decades of R&D experience in remote sensing and applications for forest, habitat mapping and agriculture. She currently leads the Remote Sensing and Computer Vision team solving challenging agriculture problems spanning breeding to crop protection and digital agriculture. Together with her team, she is instrumental in designing and implementing sophisticated end-to-end pipelines using computer vision and AI for microscopic imaging (lab), controlled environments (greenhouses), and field trials (UAV, satellite imagery) to enable biotechnology, crop protection, plant breeding and digital agriculture across the globe.

Chris Robson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wyvern Inc., a space data company revolutionizing Earth observation with cutting-edge hyperspectral imagery. Wyvern's Dragonette constellation delivers the highest-resolution commercial hyperspectral data from space, empowering organizations to uncover hidden inefficiencies, drive innovation, and build a more sustainable future across agriculture, forestry, mining, energy, and defence industries. Chris has undergraduate and Master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Alberta. He was a member of the leadership team building Alberta’s first satellite, Ex-Alta 1, which launched in April 2017 from the International Space Station.

Corbett Hoenninger is the General Manager of Argotec, Inc., U.S. headquartered in Melbourne, FL. Corbett is charged with the establishment and expansion of Argotec’s U.S. presence in Maryland and in Florida. He is the primary interface with key U.S. stakeholders at NASA, the U.S. Space Force and the Space Development Agency as well as commercial entities. Corbett is an engineer by trade and education, having served in prestigious roles at United Space Alliance (USA) as a Flight Controller/Astronaut Instructor, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) as the director of Avionics, Software and Communications and at Sierra Space as the SVP of Engineering and VP of Astronaut Training Academy.

Fire Chief Dan Munsey has been active in the fire service for over 28 years, rising through the ranks of the County of San Bernardino Fire Protection District from a volunteer firefighter to fire chief. San Bernardino is the largest fire district in the United States spanning almost 20,000 square miles and serving an almost 2 million population. Chief Munsey is a Center for Public Excellence, Chief Fire Officer, is a National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer, possess a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Grand Canyon University, is a graduate of the California Special Districts Leadership Academy, and holds a California State Fire Training Chief Officer Certificate.

Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell served as the presidentially appointed U.S. Fire Administrator from October 2021 to January 2025. Lori is a Doctor of Public Health and a data scientist, whose work has changed fire and EMS deployment throughout the world. Dr. Moore-Merrell envisioned and led the research, development, and implementation of a national emergency response analytic platform known as National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) replacing the 50-year legacy National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Dr. Moore-Merrell believes that together, we can turn a moment of crisis into an era of opportunity for the fire service.

Estefania Puricelli is an agricultural economist passionate about bridging the gap between markets, agriculture, and sustainability. She specializes in applying cutting-edge technologies to real-world challenges, fostering collaboration across diverse communities. With academic foundations in Economics, Agricultural Management, and Agricultural Economics, she has led initiatives at organizations like WWF, NASA Harvest, FAO at UN, and the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. As the founder of Ceres Intelligence LLC, she advises on food systems and digital innovation.

Genny leads the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Wildfire Resilience Initiative and special projects teams. As a program director, she oversees the foundation’s work on reducing the threat of extreme wildfire and enabling beneficial fire to achieve healthy fire-adapted ecosystems and resilient fire-prone communities, and she directs special projects grantmaking to advance outcomes across the foundation’s programs.

Jeff has spent the last 10 years of his career bringing geospatial into emerging markets like disaster relief, property insurance, and regenerative agriculture. At Regrow he specializes in using engineering to deliver repeatable science at scale using the CNG technology stack.

Jessica Webb is the Strategy Lead for Forests and Nature for People at the World Resources Institute and co-leads the Global Forest Watch initiative. She champions locally-led, rights-based approaches to forest conservation across the tropics, equipping stakeholders with cutting-edge data for monitoring and management. She tracks global forest protection efforts, emphasizing the human impact of forest change, and mobilizes resources and networks to drive lasting solutions. With a passion for environmental democracy and the power of open data for impact, Jessica holds a Master of Environmental Management from Yale and an MA in International Environmental Policy from Tufts.

Jimmy Greco is the Pixxel Sales Director for Americas. Having been involved in diverse sales processes in the geospatial sector he specializes in creating comprehensive data solutions for all business needs through the use of geospatial imagery. He has partnered with companies around the globe to create a single point of contact for all geospatial needs while utilizing the team's knowledge to know the best products for each use case and industry.