Analytical Space has appointed four new leaders to the company’s senior leadership team — this expansion of the company’s senior leadership team enables the firm to fast track the development of the Fast Pixel Network, in preparation for a 2022 initial deployment.
The following appointments, effective immediately, come after a record year for Analytical Space, after the company secured over $4.5 million in revenue and developed more than $20 million in revenue backlog:
Katherine Monson, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
Katherine is an experienced aerospace executive, having supported thousands of satellite and rocket programs during her time serving as CEO of KSAT Inc. She is passionate about creating communications infrastructure for the growing space industry. She will be leading the Operations and Business Development efforts of the Analytical Space team. Katherine started her career in Government working at the Pentagon for the Undersecretary of Acquisitions, Technology, and Logistics (OUSD AT&L). She has also previously served as Spire’s Head of Ground Stations, helping to build out the company’s key infrastructure components.
Dr. Jose Velazco, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO)
Dr. Velazco brings more than 25 years of expertise designing and integrating cutting edge Optical and RF communications technologies within industry and government leadership positions. He will be overseeing Analytical Space’s Research and Development initiatives. He joins Analytical Space after serving as the Technical Supervisor of NASA JPL’s Advanced RF & Optical Technologies group, where he developed many patents related to his work with advanced telecommunications payloads. Dr. Velazco is a visionary thinker in the field of satellite communications and is passionate about enabling new satellite sensor types and delivering higher fidelity datasets via the improvement of existing satellite communications infrastructure. Dr. Velazco began his career in industry by founding Microwave Technologies Inc., a Research and Development firm that developed microwave electronic components for the Department of Defense, NASA, and the National Institute of Health.
Rhonda Landers, VP of Finance
Rhonda has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles within finance, strategy and operations. She joins Analytical Space to lead the Company’s financial operations and play an integral role in corporate strategy development. Rhonda most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Nanosteel, a venture-backed, private company focused on the development and commercialization of advanced high strength steel. Through similar advanced technology CFO positions at companies such as Globe Wireless and Seawave LCC, she has demonstrated leadership in capital raising, strategic planning, scaling operations, and strategic initiatives for continued business growth including strategic investments, licensing and acquisitions.
Alejandra Herrera, Head of People
Alejandra joins Analytical Space to lead the HR and recruiting departments after more than 30 years of experience growing and scaling startups. She has led multiple scaling efforts, across a variety of technology-centric businesses and specializes in rapidly growing distributed and remote teams. Ale has served as the Head of Operations at The Boston Consulting Group, Sr. Director of HR at Brightstar, Director of HR and Administration at Deremate.com, and Sr. VP of HR at Xapo. At Analytical Space, Alejandra will focus on furthering the technical depth of the team, while retaining a diverse and inclusive company culture.
“As we translate our vision of a global data relay network into reality, I’m excited to welcome Katherine, Jose, Rhonda and Alejandra to the Analytical Space executive team. They come with decades of experience imagining and materializing innovative concepts in the space industry, navigating companies from early capability demonstrations to sustainable business models, and rapidly scaling organizations while maintaining a mission driven and inclusive culture.” said Analytical Space CEO, Dan Nevius. “I’m honored and humbled by their decisions to deploy their incredible talents toward accelerating ASI’s mission of building the in-orbit infrastructure to give humanity access to a high fidelity, persistent view of our planet.”
Analytical Space is launching a network of satellite relays that will provide a high-speed data connection for Earth observation satellites. ASI’s network will allow satellite operators to generate more data and get it to the ground faster, all while using their existing hardware. By closing the connectivity gaps in orbit, our network will unlock new possibilities for innovation in space, enable insights to optimize the global economy, and help us understand our planet like never before.
