Bringing Space Down to Earth

Ryan McKinney

President of Satellogic North America

Ryan McKinney is President of Satellogic North America. Prior to this, he was Head of Strategic Initiatives at Descartes Labs. Descartes Labs is a 2014 spin-off from Los Alamos National Labs focused on provisioning multiple global remote sensing modes of data on an automated planetary-scale platform providing multi-modal applications using AI/ML models and algorithms for rapidly advanced analytics.

Ryan possesses over 20 years of experience in sales and business development, including a diverse background with start-up, turnaround, and high-growth environments. He has successfully driven growth through direct-to-consumer sales and partnership building with OEMs, VARs, Global Remote Sensing Producers (space, air, and terrestrial,) and system integrators. His multi-industry experience includes private and public sectors. Prior to Descartes Labs, he was with Cyence Inc. (acquired by Guidewire Software) focused on cyber risk modeling. Prior to Cyence, Ryan worked with other enterprise IT hardware and software companies supporting both US Government and large enterprise business.

Alan Kharsansky

Technical Advisor

Alan Kharsansky serves as a Technical Advisor to Satellogic’s CEO. He joined the company in 2011 and since then has been leading efforts in electronics, power systems, and eventually served as the lead satellite systems engineer. Most recently, Alan served as VP of Mission Operations.

Mr. Kharsansky has over 10 years of electronics engineering experience and has worked in robotics projects and research before joining Satellogic.

Alan has a Masters degree in Engineering and Management, focusing on system design and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mariano Sternheim

VP of Mission Design

Gonzalo Castillo

Director of Mission and Operations

Gonzalo Castillo is the Director of Mission & Operations at Satellogic. Bringing over 10 years of experience in control theory and industrial automation, he initially joined the company in 2018 as Launch Campaign Manager to oversee the worldwide launching and commissioning of satellites. Later, he took ownership of Satellite Operations, supervising a fleet of 26 satellites.

Previously, he designed, constructed, and commissioned complex motion and handling systems for several industries, such as automotive, pharmaceutical, mining, and food and beverage.

Gonzalo holds an Electronics Engineering degree from the University of Buenos Aires. Currently based in Argentina, he’s married with two children and enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, and trail running.

Caitlin Kontgis

VP Go-to-Market

Dr. Caitlin Kontgis is the Vice President of Go-to-Market at Satellogic. She has 20 years of experience with remote sensing data, and currently at Satellogic, she oversees the process from pre-sales technical requirements to customer delivery.

Prior to joining Satellogic, Caitlin worked as a data scientist, applying machine learning algorithms to satellite data. Previously, she managed a project in partnership with Esri and Microsoft to generate the world’s first global 10-meter land use / land cover map. She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin, where she used satellite imagery to assess land cover and change detection.

Daniel Smulovitz

VP of Marketing and Branding

Daniel Smulovitz brought more than 20 years of experience in Branding, Communications and Marketing to his position as VP of Marketing and Branding at Satellogic. He has a significant record of achievement in developing strategic and tactical marketing programs for a broad range of organizations, from hi-tech start-ups to multinational FMCG companies.

Most recently, Mr. Smulovitz spent 13 years as Corporate Marketing Director at Samconsult, a group of 30+ agribusiness companies with worldwide operations, where he led Marketing activities in the five continents. Previously, he served as the Communications and Marketing Manager at Core Security Technologies in its transitioning business model from a local consulting firm to a global software development company. Earlier in his career, he assumed a lead management role at Neoris as Information Architecture Coordinator, where he launched the creative services department and has been selected as the company’s representative for the worldwide merging process of 7 companies at a global scale.

Daniel earned a bachelor’s degree in Institutional Communications from National University of Rosario, Argentina, where he was an Associate Consultant for an academic consulting program, also completed a postgraduate course in Corporate Image in Buenos Aires, studied pedagogy and group dynamics in Israel, and holds an Executive MBA from IAE Business School.

David Vilaseca

VP of Research

Passionate about complex problems, always in the quest for out of the box thinking and defining himself as an inventor, David Vilaseca leads the Research team at Satellogic. In this position, David has the mission of scanning present and future critical challenges in order to visualize breakthrough Earth Observation technologies and transform them into innovative solutions, pushing the capacity and reach of the Satellogic constellation.

Acknowledging that joint efforts are necessary to navigate the novel business of aerospace, Mr. Vilaseca also has the mission to identify key partnerships both in academia and the private sector.

With a background in electronic engineering and signal processing, David brings more than 10 years of experience prompted by creative thinking and problem solving skills applied through multiple in house positions with a strong focus on optics and payload systems engineering.

Alessandro Comune

VP of Global Supply Chain

Alessandro Comune serves as VP of Global Supply Chain. He joined Satellogic in April 2021 bringing 20 years of experience gained internationally in several technical and managerial roles.

Most recently, Alessandro provided leadership to the Procurement Team of OHB Systems in Munich, Germany, heading the Subcontractor Management Department. He dealt with the selection and management of space equipment suppliers, negotiating & executing complex development contracts from kick-off to final deliveries for Earth Observation and scientific missions within the ESA institutional market.

Previously, Mr. Comune was Project Manager at ABSL Space Products in Oxford, UK (now a division of EnerSys Advanced Systems) delivering Lithium-Ion batteries to several Satellite customers around the world. In 2007 he worked for Airbus Defence & Space in Stevenage, UK as Principal Engineer where he gained experience in the Eurostar E3000 telecoms satellite platforms and related customizations and evolutions. 

Alessandro started his career in the Aviation Industry working on different Commercial and Military aircraft projects in Italy for Leonardo (former Alenia Aeronautica) and in the US at Lockheed Martin for the JSF F-35 program. He earned his MSc in Aeronautical Engineering cum laude from University of Napoli “Federico II” in Italy. 

Lorri Kohler

VP of Global Compliance

Lorri Kohler brings over 20 years of experience in governance, compliance, and business operations to Satellogic.

Most recently, she led compliance, data security, and IT transformation at ACN, Inc., a half-billion-dollar essential services business operating across 27 countries. Before joining ACN, Kohler managed these same areas of responsibility for the nine-billion-dollar networking engineering hardware, software, and professional services business group at Cisco Systems. Prior to joining Cisco, Kohler served as the governance, operations, and vendor management director for the software and professional services group with Lenovo. Previously, she worked as one of the original founders of a startup where she wore many hats working to build and establish the business until acquired in the early 2000’s. 

Lorri earned her Masters in Business Administration from San Diego State University focusing in Computer Information Systems and Marketing Management. She earned her Bachelors of Science from California State University East Bay in Business and Economics.

Alberto Soliño

VP of Information Security

Alberto Solino serves as VP of Information Security in Satellogic. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the security industry, in particular in penetration testing/red teaming practices and identity security.

Most recently, Alberto led the Innovation Labs team at SecureAuth, aiming at speeding up the time to market of innovative product features to the company’s solutions.

Prior to that, he spent 20 years at Core Security working as PM for the company’s flagship penetration testing product and also, on the services side, managing the company’s consulting services practice, leading engagements for Fortune 100 organizations.

Earlier in his career, Solino served at the Argentinian tax agency as a member of the Special Projects Group under the supervision of the World Bank. There, he assisted in providing security oversight to all new projects and helped develop an electronic system to securely administer tax information.

Alberto is 45 and has a background in computer programming and electronics.

Maximiliano Waissbein

VP of Finance Operations

Maximiliano Waissbein is VP of Finance Operations at Satellogic. He joined the company in 2012 bringing over 15 years of experience in the fields of accounting, finance and administration, especially focused in technology companies. He has proven success in developing local start-up companies into consolidated international firms.

Prior to Satellogic, Mr. Waissbein was the Administration and Financial Manager at Core Security Technologies, responsible for implementing procedures, policies and regulations in the departments involving budget, accounting, cash flow, and legal affairs. Earlier in his career, he founded Tintoec, an ecological dry cleaning business where he was responsible for supplier development and cash flow management. He also worked for a legal firm in several accounting-related positions.

Maximiliano holds a bachelor’s degree in General Administration from the Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of Buenos Aires. He also completed a postgraduate course in Corporate Finance at UCEMA, Argentina, and the Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School.

Ken Smith

VP of Finance

Ken Smith serves as VP of Finance for Satellogic since January 2020. He oversees the FP&A and Accounting functions.

Mr. Smith brings 15 years of corporate finance experience in all levels of finance and accounting roles. He most recently served as Director of Finance at Siemens in Charlotte, NC, where he led the finance function for a 1500 employee manufacturing plant for Large Gas Turbines. In addition to finance, accounting, and manufacturing, he has led international projects, employee development and performance management programs at Siemens.

Ken has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from University of Central Florida, as well as a MBA degree from New York Institute of Technology.

Dustin Greer

VP, Corporate Controller

Dustin Greer serves as VP, Corporate Controller for Satellogic. He joined the company in September 2022 and brings over 20 years of experience spanning public accounting and finance leadership roles primarily within public corporations.

Prior to joining Satellogic, Mr. Greer served as the Sr. Director of FP&A and Business Insights at Trilogy International Partners (an international wireless and wireline telecommunications provider), and he was a key team member who took the company public in 2017. Dustin also previously held finance and accounting leadership positions at Clearwire corporation (an American public wireless telecommunications company), and Infospace (a multinational public technology company). He began his career at Ernst & Young, serving as an auditor to both public and private companies.

Dustin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a double minor in Mathematics and Economics from Linfield College, as well as an MBA from Seattle University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Maggie Bell

VP, Global Tax