Luncheon - Challenges and Opportunities in the Colorado Aerospace Industry

George Bye has 25 years of leadership as an aerospace entrepreneur and advanced concepts engineer.  Recognized as a world leader in "Electric Aviation", Bye is known for his ability to adapt emerging technology, synergize research and development into new aviation platforms, including 2 years at Boeing helping lead the TX Advance Jet conceptual design team.  An ATP-rated pilot with 4,000 flying hours, USAF T-38 IP.  He is also a Desert Storm veteran.  

With over 25 years of experience, Tiphaine has a keen understanding of the space industry, and is passionate about solving complex problems in support of customer needs. Tiphaine is a recognized industry thought leader and is a sought-after speaker at conferences.  Most recently, Tiphaine Louradour served as CEO of Spaceflight, Inc. and guided the company through a business portfolio realignment and a financial restructuring that led to the acquisition of the company by Firefly Aerospace. The portfolio restructure aligned Spaceflight’s in orbit services capabilities to strategically augment Firefly’s post launch offerings thereby ushering in a new phase of opportunity and growth for the newly combined companies.

 

Joe Rice is Director of Government Relations for Lockheed Martin Space (LMS). Lockheed
Martin Space Government Relations (LMS GR) works primarily at the state and local level in
areas where LMS has business interests to facilitate relations with federal, state, and local
government officials as well as business, education, and community organizations.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in August 2011, Mr. Rice served two terms in the Colorado
State Legislature from 2007-2010 as State Representative for House District 38. While in the
legislature, he focused primarily on transportation and economic development, passing
legislation resulting in significant transportation improvements and job creation. He also
previously served two terms as the Mayor of Glendale, Colorado, from 1996-2003. His
professional business experience includes more than 10 years of customer service
management experience with MCI Telecommunications, JDEdwards, and Wells Fargo Bank.

Derek Sikora is the Co-Founder & CTO of Vita Inclinata Technologies. Mr. Sikora's early career was focused on aerospace systems design with an emphasis in automation, systems design, and program management. In founding Vita Inclinata, Mr. Sikora invented the Load Stability System - the foundational technology at the core of Vita's products. His inspiration is sourced from an underlying drive to deliver intelligent systems that team with man across a range of industries. 

Jenna Lester is an Equipment Finance Specialist with PNC Bank. She provides structured equipment leases and loans to middle market and large corporate companies in the Rocky Mountain region. Her expertise includes equipment types in transportation, manufacturing, material handling, healthcare, technology and rail. Prior to joining PNC in 2019, Jenna spent 4 years in a variety of roles with KeyBank's equipment finance group, also in Denver. Jenna is a founding member of ACG Denver's Young Professionals Network, which has now grown to over 150 members, and has served as a co-chair of the YP committee since 2020.