Defense & Intelligence Summit ENABLING A ROBUST GEOINTELLIGENCE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GROWTH AND SECURITY

John Kedar is a strategic advisor to Governments on "The Power of Where?" He advises on strategy and policies to maximise national value from the rapidly developing location ecosystem and geospatial information. These countries are diverse, from Tonga to the Honduras, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Ukraine, Burkina Faso to Jersey. This includes utilising the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework, in which he is considered a global expert.

Elsewhere, John led the partnership board developing the future geospatial concept 'Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure', sits on the International Advisory Committee for the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre and chairs the Audit and Risk Committee of a major UK charity.

In his past life, John was Director International Engagement, Ordnance Survey, building key relationships with UK and international governments and international organisations. He also opened new international markets for Ordnance Survey across 3 Continents. Prior to this, John served 30 years in the British Army, spanning a range of engineer, geospatial, intelligence roles and frequently deployed on military operations. He commanded the Joint Aeronautical and Geospatial Organisation, UK Defence's premier geospatial intelligence organisation, developed Defence policy for geospatial information and represented UK on the European Union Satellite Centre Board.

Current post: Director of the Geospatial Institute, Austrian Armed Forces and and POC MoD for Space Services Development

Current military rank: Brigadier General

MSc and PhD in Geo-Sciences at the University of Maine (USA), the University of Salzburg (Austria) and the University of Rochester (USA)

Post-graduate studies in Geo-Informatics at the University of Salzburg (Austria) , Telematics at the University of Krems (Austria) and Space Study Program at the International Space University (France)

Lecturer for Space Applications, GeoSciences, Information Technology and Geo-Informatics at several Austrian Universities.

Mr. Todd E. Johanesen serves as Director, Foundation GEOINT Group at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), located in Springfield, Virginia, U.S.A. In this capacity, he leads an organization that provides assured, timely, relevant, and accurate foundation geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) data, products, and services in support of prioritized requirements of the warfighter, our national security objectives, and Safety of Navigation needs of the U.S. government. Mr. Johanesen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from California State University, Long Beach, in 1989. In 2001, he received a Master of Science degree from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, where he studied Geomatics engineering. He is also a 2010 Director of National Intelligence Science and Technology Fellow.

Tony served in the British Army for 27 years: initially as a combat engineer, and then as a specialist GEOINT officer. For his last military assignment, he was the Chief of Staff of the UK Joint Forces Intelligence Group and commander of all aspects of the British Army's GEOINT capability. He joined Esri in June 2017, and now leads their European National Government Team for business development; covering the National Security, Public Safety and Mapping, Statistics & Land Administration sectors.

John F. Teufert is a Principal Scientist in the Joint Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) Service Line at the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) in The Hague, The Netherlands. He also serves as the Agency's Geo-Officer as well as the JISR SL Geospatial Branch Head, leading a team of first class geospatial engineers and overseeing a substantial portfolio of geospatial projects. The geospatial portfolio touches most of NCI Agency's customer bases and most significant contributions have been made to NATO operations. Furthermore, he is also responsible to provide guidance on geospatial aspects to a large variety of other NCIA projects and programs, when needed. As the senior geospatial expert of NCIA his daily business includes personnel management, portfolio monitoring and execution, customer interactions, development of business plans, business development and last but not least to maintain a team of well trained and motivated experts. He grew the geospatial support portfolio from a 2 man team in 2003 to about 10 staff members and a dozen contractors in 2016. John F. Teufert received the NATO meritorious service medal in 2014 as well as the NATO non article 5 medals for his support to the Balkans and ISAF (Afghanistan) missions. In 2009, he was selected by the Office of the US Secretary of Defence as the JCTD transition manager of the year and in 2009 he won the USGIF Geospatial Intelligence Award in the category "military". Prior to joining NATO, John F. Teufert spent several years with the Western European Union and the European Union as a researcher and operator in the fields of crisis response mapping and Imagery Intelligence.

John F. Teufert has been promoted to Colonel of the German Armed Forces (Res) in 2016. He has been assigned as the commander of the Multinational Geospatial Support Group, a NATO SMART defence initiative which provides exclusive support to NATO and EU lead operations. Once a year John is serving in uniform in this function. This assignment is a perfect match between his Agency duties and his military service and provides great synergies both ways.

Sergio Albani is the Head of Research, Technology Development and Innovation (RTDI) Unit at the European Union Satellite Centre. He is in charge of implementing new operational solutions in the Space and Security domain looking at the whole EO and collateral data lifecycle; this is performed by exploiting new data sources, secure satcom, emerging technologies (e.g. Big Data, AI) and innovative EO based solutions. He is responsible for several H2020 projects as well as for cooperation with ESA and GEO. Mr. Albani holds a Masters Degree in Physics (Astrophysics and Space Physics branch) and a Master in Journalism and Scientific & Institutional Communication.

Ingrid Vanden Berghe holds an agricultural engineering degree specializing in soil sciences from KULeuven. After some years in advisory roles in politics, she was appointed General Administrator of the National Geographic Institute of Belgium in 2002, a function she still holds today. Ms. Vanden Berghe was President of EuroGeographics from 2012 to 2018, is visiting professor at KULeuven, board member of several research organizations, and chairs the board of technology research organization VITO. She has represented Belgium on the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) since its establishment in 2011 and was elected co-Chair at the 2020 session.

Group Captain Chamnan Kumsap graduated from the RTAFA and served the Armed Forces in the geo-spatial mission. He received MSc in GIS from the University of Edinburgh and completed his PhD in Remote Sensing and GIS from Asian Institute of Technology. Resigning from the Armed Forces, he applies geo-spatial techniques to research projects at Defence Technology Institute. His awards to endorse his contributions to the geo-spatial technology include the Best Paper Award at the International Defence and Homeland Security Simulation Workshop in 2016 and the Winner of The Call for Innovation at the Southeast Asia Water Security - IWRM Regional Conference in 2023.

Rajanikanth Muppalla has experience spanning 28 years, during which he played multiple roles in business development, strategy, delivery and operations. Currently, he focusses on driving business growth. As a GIS Practice Delivery Head, he managed end-to-end geospatial solutions, playing a pivotal role in enabling major tech companies to offer precise maps, enhancing user experiences with features like voice-guided navigation and real-time traffic updates. Additionally, he has navigated complex regulatory landscapes, ensuring the creation of compliant contracts for global operations, particularly concerning data privacy laws, allowing clients to operate confidently worldwide.

Gastao leads the geospatial intelligence product line for Blackshark.ai - the fist commercial company to detect every building on the planet using AI/ML applied to satellite and aerial imagery and construct a photorealistic 3D digital twin.

He previously held leadership positions at Microsoft, Apple and Sun Microsystems. Gastao is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MSc in Computer Sciences.

Vincent joined Synspective in October 2021 as the General Manager of Synspective's Singapore branch. He oversees Synspective's activities in the Asia-Pacific and Eastern European regions.

After graduating from the National University of Singapore's Geography Department in 2005, Vincent began his career at CRISP, the national remote sensing ground station of Singapore. He spent over 15 years leading Asia sales and business development activities for various high-profile global companies in the geospatial industry.

Vincent received his MBA from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Currently Geospatial Sales Manager at Airbus Defence and Space - Integrated Space Solutions, Martin Pentier supports end-users and channel partners across Europe with Earth Observation data and services. With close to 20 years of experience in the Defence and Space industry across various countries with responsibilities ranging from project management, strategy, sales, business development to innovation, Martin is always looking to bridge the gap between customer needs and relevant solutions. Martin holds a master of Politics and Defence business from Paris University (France), in addition to various trainings and certifications (PMI, Business Modelling, Space applications and soft skills).

Ms. Sandra Auchter serves as the Director, NGA-Denver (NGA-D) at the Aerospace Data Facility - Colorado (ADF-C). She leads a diverse team of over 500 personnel. As NGA's only senior executive at the ADF-C, she represents the interests of NGA-D as a member of the ADF-C's Denver Leadership Team (DLT), which includes the ADF-C site commander, NRO's senior representative, the Director, NSA Colorado (NSAC) and their deputy directors. As a DLT member, she concentrates on a range of issues that focus on exploring and improving how the three agencies integrate and collaborate across mission areas and across each agency's distinct personnel skill-sets.

Ms. Auchter received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Regional Studies, Africa, from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and is an alumnus of the National Defense Intelligence College/National Intelligence University.

Martin Cauchi Inglott is a retired Coast Guard officer, having served in the Armed Forces of Malta for 27 years. He began his career after having graduated from the German Naval Academy, and after serving in the flotilla in various positions, becoming Commandant of the Force in 2001. In 2008, Martin moved to Brussels and served as Maltese Military Representative to the EU and NATO Military Committees until 2012; he then established and led the External Relations Division, within the European Union's Military Staff, until his retirement from the Force in 2015. Martin received a Diploma in Diplomatic Studies, and Masters in International Law, from the University of Malta, and is graduate with distinction from the US Naval War College.

Ms. Johanna Karvonen, Project Manager for the AI-ARC project, is currently working at Laurea University of Applied Sciences (FIN) coordinating Horizon Europe funded projects within the Civil Security for Society domain. Her expertise lies in Security research, with a primary focus on European Critical Infrastructure Resilience and Border Security in the Maritime domain. Additionally, she is involved in projects related to Hybrid Threats, Inter-authority Cooperation, and Cybersecurity. Ms. Karvonen has 15 years of experience working with international research projects in Higher Education Institutions. She has a MSc in Political Science and European studies from Abo Akademi University.

Richard Goodman has twenty-five years' experience in the geospatial industry. Starting in data capture, Richard now supports business development in defence, previously working in sales technical requirements, product certification and testing, customer installations, and acceptance testing. Richard helps customers with data management and delivery, product creation, and workflow capture.

Nejc Dougan is the co-founder and CTO of Flai. He is an experienced software engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the geospatial and remote sensing industry. Currently, he is also enrolled in PhD at Faculty of computer and information science, University Ljubljana. With a research interest in the use of AI and deep learning convolutional neural networks for processing of aerial laser scanning point clouds.

Matej Michalko is a blockchain pioneer. In just two years, his company, Decent Cybersecurity, went global with offices in eight countries. He and his company won various startup awards, including Startup of the Year, Best Newcomer, and Challenger Award for the fastest-growing tech company. Matej was honored to receive the 30 under 30 award by Forbes. He was among the short list of nominees for the IBC Young Pioneer award for his achievements in building and running successful blockchain company. In 2023 he became a part of NIAG SG-294 (NATO Industrial Advisory Group) Zero-Trust Architecture for Federated Environments study group.

Mr. Oskari Hakkinen is a partner and the CEO of Spatineo. He has extensive experience in leadership, information technology, distributed system design and implementation, and quality assurance.

In his early career, Oskari worked with embedded systems and autonomous vehicles for several multinational enterprises in the machinery, explosives, and forestry industries. Last 3 years, Oskari has influenced the geospatial sector in Spatineo. Oskari is also the chairman of the Geoforum Finland, an association responsible for the Geospatial Network in Finland.