Leveraging Capital in the Current Financial Environment

As leader of the firm’s Transportation and Space Group in Washington, DC, Dara Panahy’s practice involves representation of satellite and space infrastructure operators, aerospace manufacturers, launch services providers, communications, earth observation and data services companies, banks, private equity firms, hedge funds and other investors in debt and equity offerings, project, structured and vendor financings, mergers & acquisitions, financial restructurings and in negotiating commercial contracts. He also advises on regulatory, sanctions, anti-corruption, national security and export control matters.

Mr. Panahy’s practice focuses on representing clients involved in the aerospace, communications and data service industries. He advises on numerous financings involving public offerings, high yield debt, investment grade bonds, project and vendor financings, mergers & acquisitions, financial restructuring and reorganizations and in negotiating project contracts. He also counsels clients on domestic and international regulatory and trade matters, including licensing of communications systems, economic sanctions, regulation of foreign direct investment, anti-bribery and corrupt practices, national security and export control laws and regulations and risk management.

His recent representations include:
• numerous commercial satellite and launch services procurements for clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
• procurement and financing of next-generation, multi-billion dollar regional and global fixed and mobile satellite systems
• various satellite, aerospace and communications company mergers & acquisitions, strategic venture transactions and restructurings in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
• bank and capital markets financings, and private placements, involving global, regional and national communications, broadcast, broadband, remote sensing and asset tracking companies and service providers

Mr. Panahy is a regular speaker at space and communications conferences, a visiting lecturer at the International Space University and has published articles and delivered numerous presentations on finance, commercial and regulatory aspects of the aerospace and communications industries. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer in Telecom, Broadcast and Satellite Financing in Chambers USA and The Legal 500. Mr. Panahy speaks fluent Spanish and Farsi.

Mike Collett is Founder and Managing Partner of Promus Ventures. Since its inception in 2012, Promus Ventures invests in DeepTech early-stage startups, with offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Luxembourg. Mike has been a venture capital investor for over 20 years. Mike has invested in over 100 startups, including Rocket Lab, AngelList, Whoop, Mapbox, ICEYE, Bellabeat, FLYR, Kensho, Swift Navigation, Spire Global and others.
Prior to Promus Ventures, Mike was Founder and Managing Partner of Masters Capital Nanotechnology Fund, a venture capital firm. While working at Masters Capital, a hedge fund, Mike invested in software and hardware startups. Prior to venture capital, Mike was a Vice President in Merrill Lynch’s Mergers & Acquisitions group.
Mike holds a BA in Math and BA in English from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a MBA in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Mike and his wife Paige have four children and live in Chicago.

Ronald J. Epstein is a managing director in Americas Equity Research covering Aerospace/Defense and Multi-Industrials with large aerospace components. He is based in New York and covers companies listed in the United States, Canada and Brazil. He joined Merrill Lynch in 2001.

In the Institutional Investor All-America Research poll, he was ranked as a top-three analyst in Aerospace & Defense Electronics for the last 13 years and #1 for the last seven years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and is also a mentor for the Techstars Space Accelerator. He is frequently cited as an industry authority by trade and news publications and has appeared on numerous television programs. Previously, he worked as a research scientist in applied aerodynamics technology at Boeing Phantom Works. He was also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, teaching fluid dynamics and control systems.

Dr. Epstein has a BA with highest honors from Skidmore College, an MBA with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in mechanical engineering from Duke University.

Ron, his wife Catherine and their three children, Henry, Catherine and Oliver, reside in Chatham, NJ.

Mr. Letarte is a Principal at AE Industrial and is primarily focused on originating, executing and monitoring portfolio investments. Mr. Letarte currently serves on the Board of Directors of AE Industrial portfolio companies: Belcan and York Space Systems. Prior to joining AE Industrial in 2018, Mr. Letarte was an Associate at Moelis & Company, where he focused on M&A, restructuring and strategic corporate advisory across a broad spectrum of industries including aerospace and defense, industrials, healthcare and consumer. Prior to joining Moelis, Mr. Letarte was an Analyst in J.P. Morgan’s Leveraged Finance Group, where he focused on clients in the technology, media and telecommunications sector.

S. Sita Sonty (Sita) is a Partner and Managing Director in the AlixPartners AD&A Americas group. She served as a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department, CEO of a space company, Partner at BCG, and Executive at SpaceX and Raytheon.

Prior to AlixPartners, Sita served as the CEO of Space Tango. Before that, she was the global lead for Commercial Space at BCG, where she was also a BCG Federal Core member. Earlier in her career, Sita has also held roles in Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, Raytheon, and served in senior roles at the Department of State.

She graduated with distinction from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; studied at Jussieu in Paris (1998) and the Centre des Etudes Maghrebines en Tunisie (CEMAT) (2001); and graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in Political Science and Economics.
 
Her native tongue is Telugu; she also speaks Hindi, French, Arabic, Croatian, and Urdu.  Sita serves as Executive Board Member for Women in Aerospace, The Johns Hopkins University President’s Alumni Council, and the Washington Leadership Program.

John Stack is Senior Managing Director at B. Riley Securities responsible for Aerospace & Defense (A&D) investment banking. He has 30+ years’ global experience working with publicly-traded and privately-held companies. During his career, Mr. Stack has worked across the A&D value chain, helping clients with equity capital markets (ATM, follow on, IPO), mergers & acquisitions and private capital raises. He has been active in defense technology, autonomy / unmanned systems and space. Given his strong industry knowledge, strategic and operational perspectives, vast global network of executives, business owners and investors, and extensive transaction experience, he is a respected and trusted advisor.

Mr. Stack graduated from Bryant University with BS in Finance and Accounting and received an MBA from Fordham University. He is a commercial pilot with instrument and multi-engine ratings. John also holds a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) Remote Pilot part 107 license.