Jérémie Phan is an operations executive with a background spanning aerospace & defense and digital media. He joined Starburst as Chief Operating Officer, where he is responsible for structuring and scaling the organization across its global footprint.
Prior to Starburst, Jérémie spent eight years at Webedia, a leading digital media and entertainment group. As Chief of Staff to the CEO, he led strategic and cross-functional initiatives – new business ventures, long-term incentive design, and organizational restructuring. He was then appointed COO of the Production & Talents division, overseeing a €70M P&L and ~300 people across influence marketing, audiovisual production, media IP, and esport. He later joined the Executive Committee as Chief Operations Hubs Officer, driving the group’s operational transformation.
Jérémie began his career at Cylad Consulting, an aerospace & defense management consulting firm, embedded in critical European defense and commercial aviation programs – including Airbus A320/A350, A400M, and classified platforms.
He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from ISAE-SUPAERO, with a specialization in aeronautical systems, industrial management, and applied machine learning.
Nicholas Hong, Starburst Singapore Managing Director, brings over 14 years of experience in innovation consulting, ecosystem development, and cross-border venture building across Southeast Asia.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and began his career in management consulting. He later served in key roles at Enterprise Singapore and IMDA, where he helped shape sector innovation strategies, brokered international partnerships (including bilateral programs with Israel) and drove digital transformation for high-growth SMEs across multiple sectors.
Nicholas also has hands-on experience as a founder and operator, having built and scaled multiple ventures in retail, fitness, and entertainment across the CLMV countries.
Having worked extensively with SMEs, government agencies, and founders, Nicholas brings a uniquely blended perspective to deep tech innovation in Southeast Asia. Currently based in Singapore, he leads Starburst’s efforts in startup sourcing, corporate innovation partnerships, and ecosystem development.
Michael leads Starburst’s US east coast operations based in Arlington, VA.
Michael is an international commercial aerospace, defense & space executive experienced in working with disruptively innovative start-ups across numerous commercial aerospace, defense & space domains as their banker, consultant, acquirer and employee since before it became popular.
Michael’s formative experiences include intelligence operations and combat service with the 82nd Airborne Division for Operation Desert Storm, with Task Force 118 for then-classified Operation Prime Chance, and missions with the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion (Airborne) (Tactical Exploitation) supporting the XVIII Airborne Corps, the JFK Special Warfare Center & School and national level agencies.
Since graduating from the Wharton School, Michael worked in strategy consulting (McKinsey & PricewaterhouseCoopers), Fortune 500 corporate development (Rockwell Collins & Thales) and investment banking (PCE Investment Bankers & The McLean Group) roles. More recently, he served as Strategy, Business Development & Sales VP at AI start-up SparkCognition and as the VP of Strategic Partnerships at Israeli offensive cyber counter-UAS start-up D-Fend Solutions.
Michael is the founder of senior executive association Wharton Aerospace and its 1492 Club. He is also a board director at the National Defense University Foundation.
Íñigo Estébanez de la Mata leads Starburst’s activities in Spain, driving collaborations between local institutions, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs. He played a key role in launching Spain’s first space-dedicated startup accelerator, the New Space Catalonia Accelerator, and has supported major aerospace and defense corporations in their open innovation strategies.
With a background in aerospace engineering, Íñigo studied at Universidad Europea de Madrid and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Before joining Starburst, he contributed to the design of a small satellite launcher and a nanosatellite, gaining hands-on experience in both engineering and procurement.
Ilan Rozenkopf is Senior Advisor at Starburst.
After graduating with a master’s degree in development economics from the London School of Economics and an engineering degree from École Centrale de Paris, he joined McKinsey & Company. During more than 13 years as a Partner at McKinsey & Company, he specialized in strategy and corporate finance for aviation, defense, and space corporates (with a focus on growth and innovation).
His distinctiveness within the sector lies in three main areas: expertise in strategy and corporate finance, space industry specialization, and experience with startups and scale-ups. Ilan has substantial knowledge in strategy and corporate finance, serving numerous heads of strategy, M&A, CFOs within the industry, as well as private equity investors. In space expertise, he led McKinsey’s space practice in Europe, working closely with major European space players and the European Space Agency. Additionally, he brings significant experience working with startups and scale-ups, particularly in urban air mobility and the emerging “new space” sector.
Louis Mangold is a growth-focused executive with over a decade of international experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. His background combines strong operational leadership in business development and project management with strategic expertise developed at INSEAD and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
He is currently Managing Director for France at Starburst, a role he assumed in 2026, where he leads the development and expansion of aerospace and defense innovation ecosystems.
Prior to this, Louis spent nearly five years at BCG as a Senior Manager, leading teams on high-impact strategic projects with a strong sovereign dimension. His work included public policy reviews at cabinet level, critical infrastructure development strategies, and strategic deal sourcing in regulated or state-influenced environments.
Earlier in his career, Louis served as Business Development Manager for several infrastructure and energy companies. He sourced and negotiated over 30 infrastructure deals across West Africa and the Middle East, while contributing to regional strategy development, engaging with local industrial players, and collaborating with institutional stakeholders and private equity funds to finance complex projects.
Louis holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Master’s degree in Engineering from INP Grenoble.
Giulio Busulini is an independent senior consultant who cooperates with a wide range of networks of educational and scientific institutions across the United States and Europe. A former diplomat and entrepreneur, he helps institutions and businesses to strategically innovate, build partnerships, negotiate internationally, and be successful in a competitive global market.
Between 2010 and 2019, he served as Science and Technology Advisor at the Italian Embassy in Washington. In this position, he worked with US federal agencies. Building on this experience, he is now an advisor at the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at George Washington University (GWU) and a visiting scholar at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Italian Research Council (CNR). He is also an advisor to institutions such as the Italian Ministry of Defense, the Space Economy Evolution Lab and DEVO Lab at the Bocconi School of Management (SDA), the Italian national cluster on advanced manufacturing, Fabbrica Intelligente, and the Italian National Laboratory on Cybersecurity. He has also been engaged as a strategic consultant in the field of national security between the United States and Europe.
He recently acted as a strategic consultant to the CCO of Leonardo S.p.A. (defense and space). At the invitation of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Busulini is also a member of the Global Science Diplomacy Roundtable. Prior to his appointment as Scientific Advisor to the Italian Embassy in the United States, he coordinated the business incubator at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He holds a BA in Institutional Communication, an MA in Security and Defense Studies, and an MS in Intelligence and Computer Sciences.
Benjamin Zeitoun is an Investing Partner at Starburst Ventures (SV). He focuses on early-stage companies building category-defining products for industrial and government customers.
Prior to his current role with SV, Benjamin helped build and operate Starburst Accelerator, the world’s first startup accelerator focused on national security and Aerospace & Defense, which has thus far supported more than 120 companies—who have raised a total of $1.7Bn in capital (as of 01/2024).
He has also worked with large corporations executives across the US and Europe, as well as government agencies, to promote an innovation culture and new business opportunities, sparking dozens of collaborations and direct investments in startups.
Prior to this, he studied software and hardware engineering in Montreal, Stockholm and Paris, and began his career in the CIO advisory practice of Fortune 500, before deciding to continue his studies in finance, strategy and management in France and Singapore.
Benjamin holds an MS degree in Computer Science & Systems from Ecole Centrale d’Electronique Paris and a Postgraduate Junior MBA in strategy from ESSEC Business School.
Sangdawn Kim, Managing Director of Starburst Korea, has 25+ years of experience in aerospace & defense engineering and marketing, with a focus on aerospace & defense technology analysis and R&D strategy.
Kim received an Aerospace Engineering Bachelor of Science & a Master of Science from Seoul National University before working in Flight Dynamics Engineering and Jet Trainer Marketing at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). He also was the VP of Business Development at Rolls-Royce Korea (gas turbine) for more than seven years, overseeing various sectors such as aircraft, naval marine, and energy.
Kim’s passion for exploration and cultural exchange is evident in his experiences across Europe, the Middle East, Korea, and the United States. Having lived and worked in three countries – Korea, France, and the USA – he has gained a deep understanding of various markets and global perspectives.
Currently residing in Korea, Kim leverages his multicultural background to foster innovation and collaboration on an international scale.
Noemie Alliel is the Starburst Israel Managing Director, with over 15 years of experience in strategy consulting, operations, entrepreneurship and business development, at organizations ranging from the world’s biggest professional services firms to her own startups.
As a French expat, Noemie lived in the US for 9 yrs where she started her career advising companies in distressed at KPMG in NYC before relocating to Israel 10 years ago.
In her current role at Starburst, the world’s first and only accelerator focused on aerospace and defense, she is building bridges between startups and large corporates via Starburst’s accelerator programs, solving industry gaps via the strategic consulting arm and investing the next big thing in Aerospace & Defense via Starburst Israel Ventures. Passionate about flight & space, Noemie obtained a private helicopter pilot license in 2010. Noemie holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Management from the University of Florida.
