Board

Vito Albino is Professor of Economics of Innovation at the Politecnico di Bari in Italy.
He is Chair of the Management Board of the European Center for Space Economy and Commerce (ECSECO) of the European Space Agency, Member of the Scientific Committee of the Criptaliae Spaceport (Grottaglie, Italy), and Member of the advisory board of UniCredit bank for the Southern Italy.

At the Politecnico di Bari, he chaired the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Gestionale and served as vice-rector for research and technology transfer.
He has been the President of the Board of the Italian Association of Management Engineering (AiIG), President of the Apulia Technology District for Mechatronics (MEDIS), Member of the management board of the Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies (NEREUS), President of the Agency for Technology and Innovation (ARTI) of the Apulia Region (Italy). He has been independent member of the board of Exprivia S.p.A., a digital service company listed at Borsa Italiana.

He is the author of international publications on the topic of sustainability and innovation economics. His research fields are related to innovation and entrepreneurship in industrial transitions with particular interest to space economy and sustainability.

Charlotte Mathieu is a senior expert in industrial policy, economics, and institutional affairs at the European Space Agency (ESA), where she serves as Head of the Industrial Policy and Space Economy Division. She has 25 years of experience in the space sector and an interdisciplinary and international background.

After having spent several years in industry and research, she joined ESA, where she held various positions of progressing responsibilities in different Offices of the Director General and Directorates.

She holds a double Masters degree in aerospace engineering from the Ecole Centrale Paris, France, and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, as well as a second Masters degree in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. She also holds a degree in Economics from Université Pierre Mendès France, France.

She is co-founder and member of the board of ECSECO, the European Centre for Space Economy and Commerce based in Vienna.

Estelle Godard is a Principal at Red River West, a Tier-1 Series A US/French venture capital fund investing at the frontier of AI, DeepTech, and Space. She brings a rare combination of institutional, scientific, and investment experience built across some of Europe’s most respected deep tech platforms.

She began her career at the European Space Agency, where she helped shape Europe’s commercial space landscape. She launched the ESA Investor Network and co-created the Helios Space Index with Euronext, the European Commission, and Promus Ventures amongst others.

She then crossed into venture, first at Promus Ventures, a leading US fund focused on early-stage DeepTech and Space investments where she led investments and served as board member or observer for The Exploration Company, Capra Robotics, Ellipsis Drive, Samp.ai, Encube Technologies and Uplift360; then at OTB Ventures, a pan-European Series A fund, where she opened the Luxembourg office and led investments including MatrixSpace and Waiv AI.

Estelle holds a Master’s in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris and a Dual Bachelor’s in Social Sciences and Natural Sciences from Sciences Po Paris and the University of British Columbia.

Juan Tomás Hernani is co-founder and CEO of SATLANTIS since 2014, a leading NewSpace Company for Earth and Universe Observation Technologies and End-to-End Solutions for Small Satellites.

He is an Industrial Engineer (Engineering School of Bilbao), Economist (Business Administration – Universidad del País Vasco), and has a Master of Science/Advanced Manufacturing (Cranfield Institute of Technology). He is invited professor of Innovation management at the Deusto Business School and the Warrington School of Business (UF).

He is also an Independent Coordinator Board member of DOMINION, a stock exchange quoted company ( over 1 billion USD) devoted to Industrial & Technological services, and a board member of EGILE & MODALIA.

Dr. René Puls is an entrepreneur, finance expert, and aerospace strategist with over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, business development, and venture-building across international markets. He is Founder and Managing Director of PRORES Management & Services, an advisory and production company operating at the intersection of aerospace, media, and innovation ecosystems.

He specializes in structuring and scaling ventures, driving financial performance, and enabling commercialization in complex, high-growth industries, with a particular focus on the space economy. His entrepreneurial track record includes founding multiple ventures, mentoring start-ups, and contributing to accelerator initiatives such as the Aerospace Innovation Booster.

Dr. Puls serves as Visiting Professor at the European Space Agency (ESA), where he supports talent development and commercialization initiatives, and as Senior Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), advising on business innovation, venture development, and industry-driven projects. He is a Board Member of the European Centre for Space Economy and Commerce (ECSECO), contributing to the strategic development of Europe’s space economy & community.

Previously, he held senior executive roles including Managing Director of the Swiss Aerospace Cluster and Co-Director of the HSG Center for Aviation and Space Competence, where he led business development, funding strategies, and industry partnerships.

Stella Tkatchova is an Advisory Board member, Innovation Manager and EIC Ambassador in the European Space Industry. She is an Innovation & Commercialization Manager at Space Application Services. She is a former EIC Space Portfolio Program Manager, she led the R&I activities of the EIC space portfolio and shaped the EIC space vision with proposing topics for the EIC annual Work Program. She proposed in 2023, the topic In Space Solar Energy harvesting encompassing the advancement of breakthrough technologies in the domains of solar cells, wireless power transmission and in-space green propulsion. With experience of more than 20 years in the space industry. She managed and grew the EIC space portfolio from 2022 until 2026 and supported the space SMEs and start-ups to achieve breakthrough innovation.

Previously she worked as a project manager and commercialization manager in the European space industry, managing a number of projects in the telecommunications (e.g. ESA ARTES INDIGO public private partnership, GOVSATCOM, O3B) and Earth observation (e.g. Copernicus Sentinel 1 and Sentinel 3) domains. She co-founded a company in the domain of active debris removal and helped several SMEs and start-ups grow in the Newspace industry. Earlier in her career, she worked at ESA’s European Space and Technology Centre (ESTEC) on the EU Galileo and the International Space Station (ISS) programmes.  She holds a PhD by the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of TUDelft, The Netherlands.

She has written numerous articles, books, produced webinars and podcasts on problems related to the commercialization of space technology, in-space solar energy harvesting, space debris mitigation and removal, in-orbit servicing and cis-lunar exploration. Tkatchova is the founder and former editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Space Technology Management & Innovation (IJSTMI).

Procedure for application (for more details, please see the Rules… in .pdf below)

• Candidates for election to the Board are invited to form lists composed of five individuals, who all meet the criteria (incl. 10 years of professional experience) outlined in the Rules…. The composition of the lists should, to the greatest extent possible, be representative of the variety of backgrounds of the members of ECSECO (e.g., academia, private sector, space agencies) and of the nationalities of the members of ECSECO. The composition of the lists should also strive to achieve gender balance.
• For each list, the following information should be submitted to the Secretariat:
  • The names and CVs of the five candidates;
  • A signed statement by each candidate confirming their application; and
  • A joint statement from the five candidates outlining the reasons for the application and the programme they propose for the Board of ECSECO.
• The deadline for the submission of the information is 15 October 2023.
• Afterwards, the Secretariat will review the lists submitted to it and approve those that meet the criteria summarised above.
• The Secretariat will then share the approved lists, together with the information provided, with the members of ECSECO at the latest on 30 October 2023.

Election of the Board

• Each member of ECSECO allowed to vote and physically present at the General Meeting of Members will be invited to cast five separate votes for individual candidates running under the lists approved by the Secretariat. Members of ECSECO are encouraged to vote for candidates of a same list but are not obliged to do so.
• The five candidates receiving the highest number of votes at the General Meeting will be elected.
• The term of the elected members of the Board will start on 1 January 2024 and end on 31 December 2026.