Forbes McKenzie is the Founder/CEO of McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), a European Space Agency-backed insurtech that enables rapid, data-driven responses to natural and man-made catastrophes through their GIS-focused disaster response platform the Global Events Observer (GEO). Following time in the British Intelligence Corps, Forbes set up MIS in 2011 to use the powerful combination of military-grade intelligence, geospatial technology and vast data sources to support the global insurance industry.
Dr. Gianluca Pescaroli is Associate Professor in Operational Continuity and Organisational Resilience at University College London (UCL), and Senior Risk Advisor at the Centre for Risk Studies, Cambridge University. His research investigates how to build and improve the continuity of operations during disruptive events, how to minimise their impacts, and how to increase the resilience of the public and private sectors. This includes managing complex challenges such as cascading risks, critical infrastructure failures, systemic and compound dynamics. Gianluca’s work is impact -oriented, aiming to bridge academia and practice. In 2016, he co-founded the Research Group on Cascading Disasters at UCL. Since then, he contributed to strategic documents for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, European Commission and local authorities such as London Resilience. Gianluca is now scientific lead of the new project “AGnostic risk management for high Impact Low probability events (AGILE), with 15 international partners financed by the Horizon Europe programme. He is partners in other projects financed by the European Space Agency, ESRC, NERC, and Lloyd’s Register Foundation. In 2024, Gianluca became the scientific advisor to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Network of Corporate Chief Resilience Officers (CCRO)
Charlotte De Ferrars has a background in Geography (social sciences) and Geospatial Data Analysis, with a strong passion for using data to address sustainability challenges. Her research at UCD encompasses urban resilience, including ground permeability, coastal monitoring, and Green Building Neighbourhoods. Working in collaboration with Irish local authorities, she applies geospatial modelling to inform climate strategies. She excels in multi-disciplinary teams, making complex spatial data accessible, scalable, and impactful—ensuring that the public can engage with and benefit from this information.
Professor Richard Teeuw is Co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Defence, Risk and Resilience (CEDRR) at Portsmouth University. He uses remote sensing and GIS for resource assessments and disaster risk management. Projects that he has led include coastal risk mapping, parametric insurance for coffee farmers, monitoring Niger Delta oil pollution, detecting illegal gold mining in Colombia and building climate change resilience in Caribbean and Pacific SIDS (CommonSensing project).
Alexandra is a strategic advisor at the office of the Divisional Board Member for Space at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Besides others, her main focus lies on Earth observation and policy-related matters. Before joining DLR in 2024, Alexandra worked for five years at the Department of Remote Sensing at the University of Würzburg, where she contributed to projects related to climate change, adapted land use, and capacity development in West Africa. Her own research focuses on spaceborne remote sensing for evidence-based policy, in which she is currently finalising her PhD.
Marie-Claire Greening is Programme Coordinator within the Strategy, Programme and Coordination Office, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes (EOP), at the European Space Agency (ESA), based in ESA Headquarters in Paris, France. She coordinates all international Earth observation (EO) activities for EOP and is the official ESA point of contact to many external partners and stakeholders. Marie-Claire has established and effective relationships with partner space Agencies and she sits as Alternate Principal, Board member and/or official PoC for ESA within international fora, such as the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
Emma Hatton has over twenty years’ experience in the space sector within government, academia and industry, where she has worked across mission concepts, instrument health, data processing, data quality and Earth Observation applications. Emma is currently Head of Geospatial Intelligence at the Satellite Applications Catapult, managing a multi-disciplinary team of EO and Geospatial consultants. Her role includes setting strategic goals in Earth Observation to align to the Catapult’s key missions, including our Sustainable Earth mission. With previous start-up experience in a satellite operations company, Emma also provides support to companies that engage with the Catapult’s business innovation services and supports the Innovation and Skills Advisory Board for the Renduchintala Centre for Space AI.
Rajeeshwaran Moorthy is a strategy and space economy leader specializing in investment foresight, commercialization, and policy development for space-based industries. As Managing Director & Chair of Space Sector at The Chart Think Tank, he advises governments, private sector stakeholders, and startups on space commercialization, satellite data monetization, and strategic foresight. He is also a Research Fellow at École des Ponts (CPC Paris), an Executive Fellow at the Digital Economist and visiting faculty at few business schools where he leads space economy courses for executives and postgraduates. A two-time TEDx speaker, Rajeeshwaran is the author of Space Economy: A Beginner’s Guide (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2026), offering insights into how space commercialization is shaping global industries. He also serves as the Strategic Advisor for Space Marketplace, an all-in-one platform that simplifies access to downstream space services.
Martin Unwin studied for his Ph.D. on spaceborne GPS at the University of Surrey. At SSTL he led the development of spaceborne GNSS receivers subsequently delivered and used on dozens of space missions. He helped establish GNSS reflectometry as a viable remote sensing technique through instruments flown on UK-DMC, TDS-1 and the NASA CYGNSS mission, and is now Industrial Principal Investigator on the ESA Scout HydroGNSS mission.
Mark Webber is the Quantum Architect Lead at Universal Quantum, where he leads a team of algorithm application developers and quantum error correction researchers. With a PhD from the University of Sussex, he bridges theory and hardware, translating quantum advantage prerequisites into actionable requirements. His expertise spans resource estimation, error models, and decoding techniques. He works closely with industry to advance scalable quantum computing solutions and drive practical breakthroughs in the field.