Executive Officers

Kira Blackwell, 52
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Ms. Blackwell is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. Since September 2021, Ms. Blackwell has managed her own consulting business which focuses on helping innovative startups succeed. From September 2015 to September 2021, Ms. Blackwell served as an iTech Program Executive within the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA. In this role, she was responsible for creating and implementing NASA iTech. Ms. Blackwell served as the senior NASA official responsible for the strategic oversight and management of all aspects of the NASA iTech Program as well as the primary communications channel for NASA iTech on behalf of the agency. While at NASA, Ms. Blackwell was also responsible for the strategic development, implementation, and management of the Industry Engagement Activities for the Commercialization, Innovation and Synergies (CIS) Office at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). As the primary interface between Industry, Other Government Agencies (OGA), and NASA stakeholders, she assisted with SCaN’s mission of commercializing 90% of NASA’s Near Space Network (NSN) in a rapidly expanding market. Ms. Blackwell brought years of experience in identifying gaps in technology needed for future NASA missions, evaluations of external technologies for both space and commercial market applications, as well as the facilitation of strategic national and international partnerships with NASA and OGAs, corporations, entrepreneurs, investors, and academia. Prior to her time at NASA, Ms. Blackwell served as the Executive Director of Operations at Chyrsalis BioTherapeutics Inc., the Director of Strategic Relations for the Houston Technology Center (HTC) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), and the Director of Strategic Relations at Jacobs Technology.

Andrew Allen, 68
Chief Financial Officer and Director

Since 2006, Mr. Allen has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Aerodyne Industries LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business and award-winning engineering and IT solutions company. Additionally, since November 2022, Mr. Allen has served as Vice President of Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions at Jacobs Solutions Inc., where he represents the company in industry partnerships focused on NASA and space exploration and supports other strategic activities and business pursuits. From March 2013 to December 2020, Mr. Allen served as Vice President and General Manager of Jacobs Space Operations Group at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). From July 2008 to January 2013, Mr. Allen served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Safety Labs, Inc., a leading-edge provider of new technologies and products to the fire suppression and safety industry. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Allen held various roles at Honeywell, including Vice President of Space Programs and Requirements, Vice President of International Military Aircraft Programs, and Vice President of Space Systems Sales and Marketing. From 1998 to 2004, he worked for the United Space Alliance, the prime contractor for NASA operations and maintenance of the space shuttle fleet, astronaut training and Mission Control. Mr. Allen also previously served as a NASA Astronaut from 1987 until 1997 and is a three-time space flight veteran and Space Shuttle Commander with over 900 hours in space. Mr. Allen received his commission in the United States Marine Corps at Villanova University. As a Marine Corps aviator, he flew F-4 and F-18 aircraft and graduated from: the Marine Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, the Naval Fighted Weapons School (Top Gun) and the United States Navy Test Pilot School.

Board of Directors

Richard Ambrose, 65
Director Nominee (Chairman)

Mr. Ambrose has over four decades of experience in the defense and the aerospace industry. He has served as the President of Ambrose Advisors, LLC since September 2022. From April 2013 to March 2022, Mr. Ambrose served as the Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space, and as an officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. From 2006 until 2010, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Surveillance and Navigation Systems at Lockheed Martin Space. Before joining Lockheed Martin in 2000, Mr. Ambrose was Vice President of Space Systems for Raytheon’s Command, Control and Communications business segment and formerly served as President and General Manager for Space Systems, Hughes Information Technology Systems. Mr. Ambrose currently serves on the Board of Directors of Textron and is a Senior Director at SDR Ventures and Senior Advisor to McKinsey and Company. He earned a B.S. in electrical engineering technology from the DeVry Institute of Technology, a MBA from the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, and also completed the Wharton Executive Development Program.

Thomas Zelibor, 70
Director Nominee

Mr. Zelibor has an extensive space background and most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Space Foundation from May 2017 until June 2023. There he led the world’s premier organization to inspire, educate, connect, and advocate on behalf of the global space community. From April 2011 to July 2017, Mr. Zelibor served as a Director, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Lightwave Logic, Inc., a publicly traded corporation (NASDAQ: LWLG) that conducts research and development and production of advanced, high-speed electro-optic materials for use in devices in the telecommunications, data center, and high-speed computing markets. He served as Board Chair until September 2022. Also, during this time, from July 2011 to December 2012, Mr. Zelibor served as the Director of the eSpace Incubator at the Center for Space Entrepreneurship, helping newly formed space companies navigate the global space ecosystem. From July 2008 to April 2011, Mr. Zelibor was President and Chief Executive Officer of Flatirons Solutions, Inc. a high-tech IT professional services and systems engineering company, where he was responsible for the overall strategic guidance and direction of business operations. Mr. Zelibor also previously served as a Vice President at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) working programs related to US Strategic Command’s space and network operations. During his 30-year military career he served as Director of Global Operations (J-3) at U.S. Strategic Command. While in that role he was responsible for integrating Space, network operations, and information warfare into US Strategic Command’s portfolio of newly assigned operational missions. While on the Navy staff he was the N-61/N-6F where he was responsible for the integration of space and information networks into Navy capabilities, at the time known as FORCEnet. During this time, he was also assigned duties as the Navy Chief Information Officer, responsible for all Navy network operations and implementation of the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet. His first assignment as an Admiral was commander of Naval Space Command where he was responsible for Naval space operations, the control of DoD’s UHF satellite constellation as well as operation of the space “fence,” tracking objects in low earth orbit and cataloguing them for human space flight. His other affiliations and Board service include: the National Association of Corporate Directors; Chairman, Baker Street Scientific Inc.; and Director, REE Medical. Previous Board and Committee roles included: Director, National Cyber Center (Member of the Space ISAC Committee); Director, Dienen Corp.; and Member, Defense Innovation Board, Space Advisory Committee. Mr. Zelibor earned his B.S. in Oceanography from the United States Naval Academy in 1976 and retired as a Navy Rear Admiral and Naval Aviator with over 30 years of significant leadership experience.

Paul Regan, 61
Director Nominee

Boasting over three decades of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, Mr. Regan has a proven track record of substantial board-level involvement. From September 2017 to December 2021, he served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), reporting directly to Lockheed Martin’s Chief Financial Officer. Based in Bethesda, Maryland, the RMS division employs 35,000 personnel. Lockheed Martin’s RMS Division is tasked with the design, manufacture, service, and support of a wide array of commercial and military products, ranging from helicopters and surface ships to missile defense systems, radar systems, combat systems, and training/simulation solutions. Before joining the RMS division, Mr. Regan served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Between 2010 and 2017, he contributed as a board member of United Launch Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co., and participated in the Audit and Compliance sub-committees. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Regan served on the board of Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, where he was a member of the Investment Committee. There, he oversaw $8 billion in pension and savings plans, and was part of the Investments, Audit, and Ethics committees. In 2015, Mr. Regan spearheaded and negotiated the foundation for a new joint venture between Lockheed Martin, Jacobs Engineering, and Serco Inc. This venture was established to manage the Atomic Weapons Establishment of the United Kingdom, a research facility created by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence. The facility is responsible for the design, manufacture, and support of warheads for the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal. Prior to his tenure at Space Systems Company, Mr. Regan acted as the Vice President of Finance and Business Operations for Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems and Global Solutions (IS&GS) Business Area. Before this, he was the Director of Business Operations for the Global Communications Systems Line of Business within the Space Systems Business Area. In his earlier career, Mr. Regan was the Director of Business Management for the Coast Guard Line of Business at Maritime Systems and Sensors. He also worked with Lockheed Martin Systems Integration Owego as the Director of the Aerospace Line of Business. Outside his professional commitments, Mr. Regan serves as a trustee for the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York and as a director of the Thousand Island Boat Museum. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Steven Wasserman, 63
Director Nominee

Mr. Wasserman has been a principal in MSP Sports Capital, LP., an investment fund specializing in professional sports businesses, since 2019. He served as Vice Chairman of The Roosevelt Investment Group, Inc., an investment advisory firm, from 2018 to 2021 and was previously Chief Executive Officer of Seaport Investment Management, LLC, an investment management firm, from 2014 to 2018. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Alchemy Investment Management. He currently serves on the board of byNordic Acquisition Corporation and Alchemy Investments Acquisition Corp. 1, both of which are special purpose acquisitions companies. Since 2017, Mr. Wasserman has been a senior advisor to a New York based hedge fund with respect to special situations/credit opportunity investments and has been an advisor to BlockWorks Group, LLC, a blockchain communications company. From 2011 to 2014, he was also Senior Managing Director of Beige Group, LLC, a family office where he was responsible for identifying, analyzing, and executing investment opportunities. He has also served as a principal for various other special purpose acquisition companies, including, but not limited to, Energy Infrastructure Acquisition Corp., Seanergy Acquisition Corp., and Starbulk Acquisition Corp. Mr. Wasserman is also a licensed attorney.