Space Advisory Board

Phil Eichensehr, CTO of BTD LLC

Eichensehr is the Co-owner and Chief Technology Officer of BTD LLC, an engineering consulting firm that brings nanotechnology and advanced materials to serve missions within the defense industry. He is an advisor to NewAscent, a space-launch company, and to IP3, an integrator of secure nuclear power solutions.

Eichensehr previously worked with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and General Dynamics. He built the Aerospace Engineering division of RadiantBlue and helped pioneer the small satellite revolution with the Pentagon and larger intelligence community. He led the Sensors and Ground Modernization Group at Maxar, which grew to produce $70 million in annual revenue and fill mission service roles within the U.S. Air Force and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He was subsequently CEO of Scientific, an aerospace company that provides next-generation analytics and design tools.

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LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROBERT WALSH, USMC (RET)

Lieutenant General Robert Walsh retired from the Marine Corps in 2018 after more than 39 years of service, completing his career as Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration and Commanding General of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

A 1979 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Lieutenant General Walsh served as an F/A-18 pilot at all levels, including commanding VMFA-115, Marine Aircraft Group 31, and 2d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TopGun).
As a general officer, focused on designing and building the future Navy and Marine Corps as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, and Director of Expeditionary Warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. His operational assignments included serving as Commanding General, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) Iraq, and Director of Operations, U.S. Northern Command.

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US ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL KEN TOVO

A 1983 graduate of the United States Military Academy, he commanded at every level in the 10th Special Forces Group (Abn) from detachment to group commander. He has also served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Southern Command; Commanding General, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan and NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan; Commander, Special Operations Command Central; and Deputy Commander, Special Operations Command Europe. His operational assignments include the first Gulf War; refugee relief operations in Turkey and Northern Iraq; noncombatant evacuation operations in Sierra Leone; peacekeeping operations in Bosnia on two occasions; five tours in Iraq; and one tour in Afghanistan.

GENERAL ELLEN PAWLIKOWSKI

Before retiring in 2018, General Pawlikowski was the four-star commander of Air Force Material Command, leading over 80,000 people and managing $60 billion annually, executing critical warfighter support through leading-edge research and development technology. With a PhD in engineering from UC Berkeley, she served 36-years on active duty and is a key technology leader in areas as diverse as airborne lasers and space communications. Gen. Pawlikowski is also widely credited with restoring technical rigor to the systems acquisition workforce as the Commander of the Space & Missile Systems Center. Prior to that position, Gen. Pawlikowski was the Commander of the Air Force Research Lab, the Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and held various senior positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

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PROFESSOR DANIEL DIERMEIER

Professor Daniel Diermeier is an internationally renowned political scientist and management scholar. Daniel was recently elected Vanderbilt University’s ninth chancellor, beginning his term on July 1st, 2020. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Guggenheim fellow, Diermeier also served as the provost at the University of Chicago, where he was recognized as the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor and as dean of the Harris School of Public Policy.

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MS. NANCY DILLMAN

Ms. Nancy Dillman most recently served as an Operations Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, specializing in denied-area tradecraft techniques, along with counterintelligence (CI) and counterterrorism (CT). Before joining SpiderOak, Ms. Dillman’s last overseas tour took place in Afghanistan, where she handled sensitive CI and CT accounts. Following her public service, Ms. Dillman set out to develop data-analytic products that would offer real-world solutions to USG clients. She became the majority owner and CEO of Rsignia Inc. in 2015, and after having successfully built the company, Ms. Dillman oversaw and led the acquisition of Rsignia by FedData Holdings in 2019.

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FRED DOYLE

Mr. Doyle is president of ISBF, LLC, an aerospace and defense consulting company. Previously, he was VP Defense & Intelligence at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Mr. Doyle held various executive-level positions at Space Imaging, Corp. from 1998 to 2005, including the company’s first commercial high-resolution imaging satellite launch: IKONOS. Prior to joining the private sector, Doyle served more than 20 years in the Defense Mapping Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and other branches of the intelligence community.

ADMIRAL JAMES A. “SANDY” WINNEFELD, JR.

A 1978 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Admiral Winnefeld holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He began his naval service as a fighter pilot, flying the F-14 Tomcat during several deployments to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf regions, and continued his career instructing at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (also known as TOPGUN) and serving as senior aide-de-camp to General Colin L. Powell. He commanded a fighter squadron, the amphibious ship USS CLEVELAND, and the aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE. As a flag officer, he commanded a carrier strike group, two NATO commands, the United States 6th Fleet, United States Northern Command, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He retired in 2015. A prolific fiction and non-fiction strategy and military science writer, Sandy’s latest work can be found at https://www.usni.org/people/james-winnefeld-jr

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