ABOUT

Before joining Quilty Space in 2023, Caleb Williams served in a variety of M&A and strategic advisory roles across the space ecosystem. Most recently, Caleb was a vice president at Nextfed, where he oversaw commercial due diligence engagements for corporate and private equity clients operating in the space, defense, and national security sectors. He previously held roles as a director at New Vista Capital and New Vista Acquisition Corp. and as the lead economic analyst at SpaceWorks Enterprises. Caleb is a widely recognized expert in space economics and quantitative modeling and he regularly publishes academic research on these topics. His latest work, "Identifying Features of High-performing Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) using Machine Learning", was published in the Journal of Risk and Financial Management. Caleb earned a B.S. in Economic Consulting & Marketing from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and an MBA specializing in Econometrics & Statistics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

After cultivating his lifelong enthusiasm for space by studying astronomy in college, Caleb Henry launched his career serving as a journalist for global space industry news outlets. Throughout his seven years as a reporter for publications including SpaceNews and Via Satellite, Caleb covered every aspect of the satellite & space ecosystem, growing his knowledge base as well as his expansive network of industry contacts. Since joining Quilty Space in 2020, Caleb regularly interfaces with experts across the sector, leading development of comprehensive research reports, thought pieces, industry projections, and financial analyses. He is a frequent panel moderator at industry conferences, podcast guest, industry commentator and source for multiple media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters, Quartz, and the New York Times. Caleb earned a B.A. in Political Science & Astronomy from Grove City College.

Kimberly Burke began her media and public relations career in the nonprofit healthcare sector before transitioning to an editorial role with the international publishing firm Naylor Association Solutions. After discovering her passion for the space sector while working with a cislunar startup, she joined the Quilty Space team in 2021. Kimberly supports the research and investment banking divisions with content creation and editorial direction, leads Quilty’s social media and marketing efforts, and is the client liaison for Quilty’s premium subscribers. Kimberly received her B.S. in Journalism & Public Relations from the University of Florida.

Peter Gairing has 40 years of capital markets and investment banking experience and previously served as managing director of institutional sales at Raymond James for 34 years. In the 1980s, Peter led Raymond James’ efforts in Europe and spearheaded company initiatives in its U.K. locations of London, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen. He has participated in 100+ capital markets transactions representing over $10 billion in transaction value. Peter earned a B.S. in Finance from Florida State University.

First introduced to the satellite & space sector as an intern while completing his finance degree at the University of South Florida, Droe Ohanian officially joined the Quilty Space team in 2021. As a Quilty Space investment banking associate, Droe has been instrumental in helping execute the firm’s M&A and financial advisory activities and is responsible for the accounting and financial activities at Quilty Space. Droe graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of South Florida with a B.S. in Finance.

Gerry Nagler joined Quilty Space in 2020 to support the firm’s research, strategy, and consulting services. With 30+ years of experience in satellite communications, Gerry brings the unique qualification of having held senior management positions at industry - leading mobile and fixed satellite service operators. He was director of marketing at Telesat from 2002 to 2020 where he was instrumental in the company’s strategic planning, forecasting and competitive evaluations. Gerry began his satcom career in the 1980s at COMSAT Corp. where he was promoted to vice president. He then worked for Lockheed Martin in the same role following the COMSAT - Lockheed merger. Gerry earned an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School.

Having led $1B worth of acquisitions, investments, growth initiatives, and acquisition integrations throughout his career, Ili Cohen brings an established record of hands-on M&A execution to the investment banking team at Quilty Space. Previously, Ili held leadership positions at Synergy Capital (an investment banking boutique) as well as advisory and consulting roles with several Fortune 500 companies, with a focus on space technology. Ili is a general partner at Magma Venture Partners – one of Israel’s most prominent VC firms and serves as an advisor to the Israel Space Agency. Ili has previously held VP of M&A positions at multiple publicly traded technology firms, including Comverse Technology (NASDAQ: CMVT) and Gilat Satellite Networks (NASDAQ: GILT). Ili graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tel Aviv University with a B.A. in Management and in Economics and earned an MBA with Academic Distinction from Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Throughout his 25-year investment banking career, Lee Priest has advised on more than 60 transactions representing at least $6 billion in transaction value. His industry experience includes extensive work with clients in satellite & space - related sectors, including satellite communications, defense electronics, government services, signals intelligence, and aerospace. Lee has advised on a range of complex middle transactions, including go-private, takeover defense, and SPAC transactions, as well as numerous sell-side and buy-side M&A assignments and public and private capital raising. Prior to joining Quilty Space as a senior advisor, Lee served for two years as a public company CFO and eight years active duty as a commissioned officer and naval aviator in the U.S Navy. Lee earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the University of Maryland.

Pete Kunkel is a serial entrepreneur who founded his own consulting and advisory business focusing on advanced space sector technologies, including spacecraft reusability and in-space propulsion. He is a former Distinguished Visiting Fellow for classified programs at LMI, a McLean, Virginia-based, national security firm. Pete served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army, directing all Army budgeting and financial management activities and operations. Before joining Quilty Space, Pete specialized in markets including aerospace & defense and telecommunications as a leveraged finance investment banker at global investment bank UBS. He is currently the CEO of a newspace stealth startup. Pete earned a B.A. in economics on an N.R.O.T.C. scholarship from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.