Kadi Silde is the Chief Development Officer at Starburst Aerospace.
She joins from NATO DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic), where she helped set up first as Head of the transition team and Chief of Staff, and subsequently as Chief Operating Officer.
She previously served as Undersecretary for Defence Policy at the Estonian Ministry of Defence in 2019-2022. In this position, she was responsible for policy planning, intelligence coordination and operations planning; EU and NATO matters and other bilateral and multilateral international cooperation.
Kadi Silde joined the Ministry of Defence in 2008, holding various positions including the director of policy planning. She joined Estonia’s EU Council Presidency team at the Estonian Representation to the EU in 2017, coordinating defence efforts and working on defence initiatives such as the European Defence Fund. She was subsequently seconded to the European Commission to implement it.
Kenny Lee is the Founder & CEO of Kencoa Aerospace, a precision aerospace & space component manufacturing company, with 450+ team members across the US and South Korea.
Lee began his career at Hyundai Motor USA. In 2001, he established California Metal, an aerospace raw materials distribution company headquartered in Los Angeles. The company quickly established itself as a trusted supplier to major OEMs such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Gulfstream, and Northrop Grumman, earning the prestigious Boeing Performance Excellence Award and Lockheed Martin Elite Supplier Award.
Lee founded Kencoa Aerospace in 2013. Under his leadership, it became a publicly traded company in 2020. Lee has diversified Kencoa’s operations by actively expanding into the UAM (Urban Air Mobility), heavy lift cargo drone, and space industries as a NASA Artemis partner. Lee’s entrepreneurial spirit and drive for innovation have positioned Kencoa as a forward-thinking player in these emerging sectors.
Lee’s unwavering commitment to excellence and his ability to seize new opportunities in aerospace make him a driving force in the industry. He holds a BA from Seoul National University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Rodrigue Gilbert has over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors, focusing on business strategy, transformation and operations including business and corporate strategy and management, transport strategy and cost enhancement, Lean management, network optimization, operations effectiveness, enterprise asset life-cycle management and the management of innovation.
Rodrigue has developed a wide repertoire, having worked with airlines, MROs, parcels, rail (passenger, goods, foods), public transportation and logistics services companies, most notably Air Canada, Jet Blue, United, Qantas, Tinker (US Air Force), Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and more.
As an advisor to Starburst, Rodrigue offers his expertise in his areas of specialization: business transformation, market growth, and corporate strategy. He holds a Master of Science in Management and Operations from HEC Montréal and a Bachelor of Science from the Université de Montréal.
With over 10 years of experience in the aerospace industry, Matthieu Chartier is currently Managing Director of Starburst France. He specializes in Aerospace & Defense (A&D) with a focus on Tech & Deeptech.
Prior to joining Starburst in the spring of 2023, Chartier was the Project Leader at BCG Paris. His career began at ArianeGroup (former Airbus Defense & Space), where he spent 5 years designing and building Space ground infrastructures (including the Ariane 6 assembly Line, Kazakhstan Space center, and more).
In 2018, he joined Microsoft’s Strategy Consulting team, where he focused on the A&D French market to support the growing needs in the Digital & Tech verticals of the industry. He developed several strategic partnerships with major European players (for example, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, and Naval Group) and led the elaboration of Microsoft France’s Space strategy, supporting the launch of Azure Space & Azure Orbital products in France.
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.
Dirk Hoke is the CEO of Volocopter, a company that is bringing urban air mobility (UAM) to megacities around the world by creating sustainable and scalable UAM ecosystems with partners in infrastructure and operations. His career spans more than 25 years in five continents and in various industries, with a focus on digitalization.
He started his professional career at Renault in Paris before joining Siemens. In his 20 years at Siemens, Dirk was responsible for many restructuring programs and often for developing new businesses. He held many executive-level positions including the first Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Africa, Chief Executive Officer Industrial Solutions, Chief Executive Officer Customer Services and Chief Executive Officer Large Drives.
Until recently, Dirk was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airbus Defence and Space and also served as a member of Airbus’ Global Executive Committee. Dirk currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Voyager Space and on the Board of Directors of Spire Global and Solaredge and is an Alumni of the World Economic Forum Young Global Leader Program.
With 30 years of experience as an independent consultant, Alfonso Barreiro founded Space Business and Operations Consulting in 2021.
In 2006, Alfonso joined the Deimos Imaging team as the Head of Global Corporate Management, focusing on start-up operations and business development to enhance market presence for four years.
For the five years thereafter, he was responsible for the strategic development of the Deimos Space group, overseeing alliances, mergers and acquisitions, major projects, technology portfolio, and general marketing and communication policy as Director of Corporate Development.In 2015, Alfonso became the Vice President of Strategic Business Development for UrtheCast, dedicating two and a half years to the UrtheCast Constellation project. He relocated to Sweden in 2018, spending three and a half years as the CEO of ÅAC Microtec AB, followed by the role of VP Business Development SaMS at the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).
As an advisor for Starburst, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team to help us drive our mission forward.
Bertram Gorlo is a seasoned aerospace executive with nearly three decades of experience in the aerospace industry, with a decade dedicated to the commercial aviation world and nearly two decades in the military aviation sector.
Throughout his career, Bertram has navigated various facets of the aerospace industry, including aero engines, civil and military aircraft, industrial gas turbines, UAVs, and civil and military service solutions. His repertoire also includes expertise in program and project execution, strategy development, business development, sales, and key account management, with firsthand experience with commercial and institutional customers.
In his role as Advisor for Starburst, Bertram focuses on expanding the company’s presence in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Drawing upon his expertise and industry connections, he is pivotal in connecting promising startups with governments, institutions, and industry leaders.
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.
Robert Ganim is a national security policy and business professional, bringing to Starburst over 13 years of experience rooted at the intersection of business, policy, and geopolitics. He joined Starburst’s DC office as Director of Government Affairs and Business Development when it opened in March 2022.
Throughout his career, Robert has worked on an array of topics within the national security policy portfolio in the US Senate, at the US Department of Defense, and as a government relations consultant and startup executive. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and holds certificates from the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College and Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.
