Shaping the Future of Deep Tech

Steve is Executive Chairman of the Consulting and Advisory firm, The Gram Group, focused on functional advisory and due diligence for PE and VC-backed companies in Space Tech, Deep Tech and Defense Tech/National Security. There, Steve and his team help founders, CEOs and investors with guidance and advice in multiple areas including; manufacturing, product management, engineering validation, go-to-market strategies, office of CFO goals and broader operational advice.

Jeff Bettencourt is an accomplished business and technology leader with extensive experience across marketing, product management, engineering, business development, and sales. He currently serves as an advisor for The Gram Group and was previously the COO for Zignal Labs. Jeff's career includes executive roles such as CEO of AI startup Slate Technologies, where he led the development of an AI platform to enhance efficiency in the construction industry. He also served as Chief Operating Officer at Datera, contributing to the company's software-based data services platform. During his tenure at EMC Corporation (now Dell Technologies), Jeff held several senior positions, including SVP and General Manager of Connectrix a $1B+ SAN Networking business, and COO of the EMC's $21B Core Technologies Division. In these roles, he oversaw marketing, operations, and business development, managing multi-billion-dollar business units. His diverse expertise and leadership have consistently contributed to the advancement of technology solutions across various industries.

Michael Newcity is Senior Vice President — Chief Innovation Officer of ArcBest and President of ArcBest Technologies. During his nearly 30-year tenure with ArcBest, Michael has led several strategic, tech-forward initiatives around digital logistics and enterprise-wide advancements in business intelligence, e-commerce, market research, and strategy management. The company has been recognized for information technology work under Newcity's direction in a number of publications, including CIO and Information Week.

Atul Bhave is a distinguished business leader with a proven track record of scaling organizations and transforming underperforming business units. His strategic vision and innovative approach have positioned him as a discerning investor in multiple startups, with two successful exits that underscore his ability to identify and capitalize on high-potential opportunities. His expertise encompasses a broad spectrum of disciplines, including business planning, sales, analytics, international business, and client relationship management—an integrated skill set that drives operational excellence. Additionally, Atul actively manages ventures as a business owner in both last-mile delivery franchises and solar energy startups, effectively steering these enterprises through complex market dynamics with strategic insight and operational rigor.

Matteo joined Fleet Space Technologies in 2023 as Chief Technology Officer, based out of the United States. He has been building space and near-space systems for almost 30 years. After gaining his PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, he joined Palo Alto-based SSL (now part of Maxar), where he led teams designing and building high-power GEO communication satellites, LEO imaging satellites, and interplanetary spacecraft and systems. Prior to joining Fleet Space, he headed the Remote Sensing business unit at World View Enterprises, building High Altitude Platforms Systems (HAPS) designed to image and measure the Earth from the stratosphere.

Guy Churchward, a seasoned Silicon Valley executive with over 30 years of experience and 15 acquisitions, has held various leadership positions in the technology industry. Notably, he served as the president of Core Technologies at Dell EMC, the general manager of secondary storage for NetApp, and the general manager of Weblogic products at BEA Systems. After now completing his fifth CEO role, Churchward has transitioned his focus to advising boards and executive teams.

Andy is currently the Chief Production & Supply Chain Officer for Czinger Vehicles. Prior to Czinger Andy was VP, Quality Assurance & Build Reliability at SpaceX. Andy spent 13 years with the BMW Group in various positions including General Manager for MINI body shell production, strategic production planning specialist, and General Manager for MINI vehicle validation and analysis. During his last threeyears at BMW, Andy served as Vice President for MINI Logistics and Assembly Production. During his time with MINI he contributed to the rapid development of a production system that nearly tripled the output of its original installed capacity. The system could handle five significantly different body types and almost infinite configurations, a factor of customer option selections and the 80+ countries supplied.

Experienced CEO/COO and Board member with a history of working in the solar, renewable energy, and electronic manufacturing industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Solar, Silicon, Thin Films, Negotiation, Budgeting, Operations Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Jack Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Jack Johnson and Associates, LLC., McLean, VA. This firm was established to bring the full breadth and depth of strategic business and security consulting that leverages over 40 years of experience as a senior government executive, Big Four Partner and Global Consulting firm executive. Previously, Jack Johnson served as a Partner with the firm of Guidehouse, the legacy PwC US Public Sector, and oversaw the entire Defense Sector, which includes all entities within the US Department of Defense; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, all Other Defense Organizations and Other Defense Agencies, as well as NATO and all Commercial Aerospace and Defense activities.

Avi is an Advisor for The Gram Group. He is also operating investor with broad general management and investment expertise in early to later-stage technology-enabled companies. I have had profit/loss business unit-level responsibility at public and private companies and have devised a set of operational playbooks that can be implemented as part of investments made. I am currently focused on dual-use companies that offer commercial and government customers new market capabilities and products.

Michael Moreno is the Vice President of Strategy at Lunar Outpost, where he drives forward innovative approaches in space exploration and technology. A former CIA Case Officer, Michael brings a wealth of intelligence and operational expertise to his role. He is also a climate and defense founder with a proven ability to navigate complex global challenges. Michael holds an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and further specialized credentials in international affairs from Columbia SIPA, making him a uniquely positioned leader in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Jon is an Advisor for The Gram Group. He is also a public company CFO with a big Four public accounting foundation combined with domestic and international financial leadership in various stage entities and industries from start up to large publicly traded multinationals.

Jon is an Advisor for The Gram Group. He is also the CEO of the uAvionix leadership team and brings more than 30 years of aviation technology experience. His extensive background in engineering for crewed and uncrewed aviation, software development, and systems integration positions him as a visionary leader to guide uAvionix's growth across diverse markets, including General Aviation, Uncrewed Aviation, Defense, and Aviation Networks.

Ryan Johnson is the President and CEO at Verge Agriculture, leading the shift to autonomous farming with an AI-powered operations planning platform. Since 2019, he has empowered growers to optimize field operations and boost productivity. Previously, Ryan held key leadership roles at BlackBridge, Planet Labs, and Whipcord, building a strong background in agtech and geospatial innovation. He holds a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Remote Sensing from the University of Lethbridge.

Charles is an Advisor for The Gram Group. He is a Career Risk Management leader with a demonstrated record of helping organizations achieve security excellence by transforming their risk mitigation programs into business enablers. Global engagement experience across a wide range of industries with one of the world's largest professional services firms as well as the U.S. Government. Several years of full-time foreign affairs experience during two European assignments and numerous joint operations with foreign governments. Bachelor's Degree in Economics from UCLA.

Jeff Crusey is a seasoned deep tech investor and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience operating across the US and Europe. Jeff served as a Venture Partner at 7percent Ventures and is a founding partner and General Partner at Farpoint. Previously, Jeff has held pivotal roles as a deep tech VC—guiding investments in areas ranging from genomics and climate technology to AR/VR, AI, space, and defense. His background includes leading corporate development at Viasat after co-founding DeepSee, as well as serving as an Investment Director at Seraphim Capital. In addition to his formal roles, Jeff has lent his expertise as an advisor to companies such as Per Aspera, helping them navigate early-stage growth with a no-nonsense, hands-on approach. Known for writing checks and offering practical support to founders, Jeff continues to drive innovation and scale in the deep tech ecosystem.

John Weigold has more than 25 years of experience working with senior leaders across a variety of public, private, and government organizations developing strategy and executing plans and operations. Mr. Weigold has worked as a partner in the world's top human capital firms, helping organizations find top talent in the aerospace/defense, security, technology, industrial sectors worldwide. Mr. Weigold served on the boards of Radium, Water Intelligence, PLC, ListServ. He works internationally with organizations in the areas of strategic and operational consulting, with concentrations across a variety of public, private, and government organizations, developing strategy and executing plans and operations.

Mark is an Advisor for The Gram Group. His also the Founder and Principal of The Bauman Group, a strategy consulting firm focused on helping aerospace defense companies achieve greatness. Mark provides actionable insights to enterprise growth strategies, captures the customer voice in account strategy and proposal reviews, and delivers a seasoned perspective on marketing and communications required to drive growth. Previously, Mark was the Vice President of Global Growth for Insitu where his primary focus was delivering enhanced solutions and capabilities to their global customer base. Mark also led the development of the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) customer growth strategy and held executive responsibilities for the region. Mark joined Insitu in 2014 as the Program Manager for the RQ-21A Blackjack Program, led the expanding Integrator and RQ-21A product line through its initial deployments supporting multiple Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU) and served as the Deputy General Manager of Insitu Defense through 2016. Mark also held the position of Vice President and General Manager of Insitu Commercial where he led the expansion of Insitu's UAS and data management solutions within the oil and gas, transportation, emergency response and other commercial industry segments.

Frank Klein is the Chief Operations Officer at Rocket Lab, responsible for scaling the manufacturing of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and components to meet growing customer demand. With over 30 years of international manufacturing experience, he brings a proven track record from the automotive industry. Previously, at Daimler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group), he managed global production across 12 sites and over 14,000 employees. He also served as President of Magna Steyr AG—one of the automotive industry's largest independent contract manufacturers with operations spanning three continents—and most recently, as COO at Rivian Automotive, where he helped transform the company from a low-volume start-up into a high-volume premium electric vehicle manufacturer. Frank holds a Master's Degree in Electrical and Industrial Engineering from Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Stuttgart and a Bachelor's in Business Administration from FernUniversität in Hagen.

Paul "Rusty" Thomas is the SVP/GM Space Applications Sector and CTO for Sierra Space. Thomas has experience in commercial and government space systems with more than 120 launched spacecraft spanning LEO, GEO, and interplanetary. He joined Sierra Space from Amazon, where he was the lead for the company's Kuiper Government Solutions team. Amazon's Kuiper Systems is a planned constellation of 3,236 satellites that provides global broadband internet connectivity.