SFN Board

Joanne Wheeler MBE (Chair)

Joanne is a Director at Alden, and one of the leading experts in the field of satellite regulation and commercial contracts, having worked at both Ofcom, the European Space Agency and for over 20 years in private legal practice in this area.

She was awarded an MBE for services to the UK space industry in 2017. She is ranked in Tier 1 in legal directories for her satellite and communications expertise.

Joanne won the Financial Times European Legal Innovator of the Year award in 2014 for her work with the UK space industry and government. She is a founder and Chair of the Satellite Finance Network, and writes two regulatory columns for international satellite industry journals: Via Satellite and Satellite Finance. Joanne is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Professor Richard Brook OBE, FREng

Expertise and experience in space, engineering and financing of SMEs and Start-ups.

Lifetime career in contract R&D in the fields of measurement, instrumentation and control systems, including proving developments in the field and subsequent commercialisation.

Held C level and board positions with numerous companies and worked on research programmes and commercialisation with private companies, universities, Research Councils, Government Departments and Laboratories and in early-stage Venture Capital. Angel investor in several small companies.

 – Past Chair of UKspace, current member of the UKspace Executive (lead on Access to Finance), past member of UKSA Advisory Boards. Past member of EU Expert Group on Space (2006-2012)

– Past non-executive director of the National Physical Laboratory (2004-2015)

– Past Chair and President, current Executive Vice-President of AIRTO (Association of Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations)

– Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Member of the RAEng Enterprise Committee, mentor to recipients of RAEng awards

– OBE awarded for Services to the Space Industry and to Higher Education

Sam Adlen

Sam is Chief Strategy Officer for the Satellite Applications Catapult.

Sam is responsible for developing a strategy that best supports UK space sector growth, working with the world class academic base and supporting development of the next generation of high growth business.

Following a PhD in remote sensing, working on a NASA Mars mission, Sam joined the VEGA Group as a consultant focusing on satellite applications. From there he held senior space sector strategy roles in Finmeccanica, started and successfully exited a start-up in the logistics sector and was Lead Technologist for Space at Innovate UK (the UK’s Innovation Agency).

Sam holds an MPhys and PhD from Oxford University and an MBA focussed on Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Imperial College London.

Rob Spurrett

Mark Garnier MP

Mark Garnier has been a Member of Parliament since 2010. During his time in Parliament, he has dedicated much of his time to the subject of the UK Space industry, serving as vice chair of the All Party Space Group, with just a short interruption, since being first elected.  Mark served a two year period between 2016 and 2018 as the Investment Minister at the Department of International Trade, where his portfolio included (amongst others) advanced manufacturing and aerospace – a role that helped him promote UK’s space businesses across the globe.

Prior to entering politics, Mark spent 27 years as an investment banker and investment manager – an interest he took into parliament with his work on the Treasury Select Committee and Parliamentary Committee for Banking Standards. Mark continues to serve on a number of committees, including the International Trade Select Committee, and now chairs the All Party Group for Corporate Governance.