Invest NY: Future of Aerospace & Defense 2021

Jeremy Shure

Chief Revenue Officer, Grasshopper Bank

Jeremy Shure is Global Head of Early State Practice at Grasshopper Bank, where he helps to define and executive Grasshopper Bank’s mission to deliver tailored banking for founders and funds by empowering innovation through exceptional service and technological advances in banking. Prior to joining Grasshopper Bank, he was a Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank and led its Early Stage Practice for the East Coast.

Tim Sakulich

Executive Director, Air Force Research Laboratory

Timothy Sakulich, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Executive Director, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He is the Principal Assistant to the Commander and the Senior Civilian Executive responsible for managing the Air Force’s $3 billion science and technology program along with an additional $3 billion of externally funded research and development. He serves a government workforce of approximately 6,500 people in the laboratory’s nine component technology directorates, 711th Human Performance Wing, and AFWERX.

Mr. Sakulich began his Air Force career in 1984 as a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Upon commissioning, he was awarded a scholarship to attend graduate school at North Carolina State University where he received a Master of Science degree in applied mathematics. He has held diverse technical and leadership positions, including those in operations research, logistics, international security cooperation, science and technology and programs and resources. During the course of his active-duty career, Mr.Sakulich served in assignments at base level, an air logistics center, research laboratory, two major command headquarters, a combatant command headquarters, a defense agency and the Joint Staff.

MC Chruscicki

Chief Technology Officer, AX Enterprize LLC

Pat Baskinger

Chief Executive Officer, AX Enterprize LLC

Noa Conger Simons

President & CEO

Noa Conger Simons is an entrepreneur, an investor, and a community builder. She has been the Executive Director of Upstate Capital since 2016, and started the Capital Foundation in 2018. After graduating from Brandeis University, she worked through a private family office as a venture capital investor and executive leader for both nonprofit and for-profit startups through 2015. She has led turnaround management projects, as well as teams doing fundamental research, and web platform development. She sourced investment opportunities, conducted due diligence, structured agreements with founders, and managed portfolio investments. She co-founded the Hudson Valley Startup Fund in 2015 and led day-to-day management through 2019. She leads the NYBPC, New York’s intercollegiate business plan competition for emerging entrepreneurs where the focus is on education, equity and inclusion, and launching new ventures. She serves on boards, investment and advisory committees across New York, and independently, as a mentor, advisor and consultant to select startups and small businesses.

Greg Wales

Ventoux Industrial Holdings

Greg is a Managing Partner at Ventoux Industrial Holdings where he utilizes his skills in sourcing acquisitions and guiding corporate restructurings of distressed businesses. Greg has extensive experience in manufacturing, with a specific focus on metal forming and precision machining.

Mike Faulkner

Weco Manufacturing Group

Mike has over 30 years experience in providing engineered solutions to meet the challenges of an industrial customer base. For the last 12 years, he’s led industrial manufacturing businesses of varying sizes and is currently serving as the CEO of the Weco Manufacturing Group.

Ari David Kocen

Bluehenge Capital Partners

David Kocen is Managing Member at Bluehenge Capital Partners, a $180 million fund. He invests in unitranche/ mezzanine loans and minority equity investments from $3MM to $25MM in size. Previously, David managed the New York investment office of Stonehenge Capital Company for 14 years, overseeing all fund and portfolio matters for the firm in the Northeast US.

Dan Kalil

Assured Information Security

Dan Kalil is the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Co-Founder of AIS. As CCO, Kalil leads AIS’s commercial strategy with a focus on growth, diversity, profitability and reinvestment into the company’s advancement of next-generation cybersecurity research and development.

Charles Green

Assured Information Security

Charles Green is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Assured Information Security (AIS). Green has more than 20 years of experience in offensive and defensive information operations, as well as Department of Defense (DoD) information assurance (IA) research and development.

Heather Hage

President & Chief Executive Officer, Griffiss Institute

Jonathan Greene

Senior Investment Director, NY Ventures

Jonathan Greene is Senior Investment Director at NY Ventures, investing in innovative startup companies across New York State. He in an investor and Board Observer in GiveGab (acquired 2021), Ursa Space Systems, Ekostinger, Mosaic Microsystems, and Post Process.

Daniel Hanks

General Partner, Lavrock Ventures

Daniel is a Founding General Partner of Lavrock Ventures and has served as an investor, founder, advisor, and operator with a wide variety of early-stage companies.

Thomas Hendrix

Founding Partner @ Decisive Point

Thomas leads venture strategy, business operations, and finance for Decisive Point. Previously, he has held roles in venture capital and at early-stage startups. Thomas began his career in the private sector at Blackstone after serving in the U.S. Army for nearly 10-years as an Infantry and Special Forces Officer. Thomas earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and holds a BS in American Legal Systems from the United States Military at West Point.