ITK Radio | John Neal | The Space Economy

On this episode of ITK Radio, a conversation with John Neal.

John is the Executive Director for Space Policy at the US Chamber of Commerce.

In this role, he is responsible for expanding the Chamber’s policy advocacy initiatives in the aviation and space areas.

John is a military and law enforcement veteran with deep experience in technology policy, sales, security, and business management with global organizations operating in regulated markets.

John has extensive experience in leading technology and cybersecurity firms including Planet, which provides satellite imagery data to government and commercial customers.

John’s previous work includes nearly ten years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent where he conducted national security and criminal investigations and advised leadership on national security related mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Following the FBI, John joined the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security where he served as a Senior Professional Staff member on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence subcommittee as well as the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies subcommittee advising the Chairman and Members on cyber, national security, and financial services matters.

You can find John on LinkedIn here.

Insights + Ideas:

+ Expertise in managing the intersection of business and government

+ Specialist in analyzing and forecasting regulatory and policy impacts on markets

+ What it is like rocket scientists to the US Government

+ Opportunities in space products and services

+ How to broaden opportunities for companies to operate in space and use space to achieve business objectives

+ The communications challenge of demystifying the space economy

+ The power of not knowing and being curious

+ The business models of space-focused companies

+ Where the space economy is going

+ The scale of the space economy supply chains in the United States

+ What is a space company?

+ The 50th anniversary of GPS

+ Efforts by the US government to foster a lunar economy

+ Identifying use cases for technology and services that can operate profitably in space

+ Challenges of US export controls and dual-use technology being sold to foreign governments

+ How US allies want to sell space technology and services to American buyers

+ The growth of space attaches operating at embassies and foreign ministries

+ Space competition with China

+ The economic opportunities for the Moon

+ How to get smart on space - sources of information and conference

+ Book: When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach Hardcover by Ashlee Vance

+ US Chamber of Commerce Global Aerospace Summit - Innovating the Skies, Connecting the World on Tuesday, September 12 - Wednesday, September 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. More here.

+ The geopolitics of space

+ NASA Earth Information Center - website.

ITK Radio | Stephen Majors | Communicating Biotechnology

On this episode of ITK Radio, a conversation with Stephen Majors.

Stephen is the Global Head of Communications at the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine.

Stephen advocates for consistent regulatory and market access policies globally to ensure that patients can access cutting-edge biotechnology treatments for various conditions.

He leverages his expertise in healthcare, public policy, and geopolitics, and experience in journalism and the media, to conduct effective and integrated public affairs campaigns for the biotechnology sector across state, national, and international geographies.

You can find Stephen on LinkedIn here.

Insights + Ideas:

+ What is it like to be a journalist?

+ Helping a journalist: "To be brief and be to the point."

+ How to best understand a reporter's beat or interests

+ Making the leap from being a journalist to being a public policy healthcare advocate

+ Advice on staying on top of the recent developments in public policy healthcare advocate

+ Read: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - David Epstein

+ The benefit of not knowing when communicating a topic

+ Tactics for successful media training

+ Vizualing an audience to develop communications

+ How biz dev and B2B communications have helped his career

+ Thinking about audiences to achieve communications objectives

+ How media fragmentation is impacting communications objectives

+ How to make sure your communications is responsive and not always reactive

+ What it is like to handle communications for a global membership advocacy organization

ITK Radio | Adam Probolsky | Understanding Polling + Data Science

On this episode of ITK Radio, a conversation with Adam Probolsky.

Adam is the president of Probolsky Research.

Adam has acted as a pollster and strategic advisor on hundreds of successful crisis communications and public affairs projects, local, county, and statewide initiatives, and candidate campaigns, as well as citizen outreach and education efforts.

Additionally, Adam has been a key advisor to the firm’s clients on matters of public policy, legislation, and business strategy.

Adam was both a planning and finance commissioner for the City of Irvine, where he oversaw and approved billions of dollars in private development and public infrastructure projects. As a past chairman of the Irvine Valley College Foundation, he has overseen the fundraising and the award of hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to students and funding for college police.

He was also a member of the Orange County Waste & Recycling Commission, overseeing landfills, recycling programs, waste-hauling companies, and power-generating facilities. As a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Environmental Mitigation and Oversight Committee, he oversaw the expenditure of over $175 million dollars in public transportation funds.

Adam is a former journalist, and he previously served as a board member and development committee chairman for Jewish Family Service of Orange County and volunteered for nearly eight years with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as a spokesperson.

Adam formerly served as a member of the Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment of the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Adam’s research and commentary has been published in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, Riverside Press Enterprise, The Chicago Sun Times, the Orange County Register and Politico, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Adam earned his master’s degree in data analytics and visualization from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland.

You can find Adam on LinkedIn here.

Insights + Ideas:

+ "as a pollster, it is part math, part art, and part psychology"

+ What is polling all about?

+ The problem of "polls of polls"

+ What is the client acquisition process for a polling firm?

+ How to best work with a pollster

+ Answering: "I think that" and "I wish I knew"

+ Is a pollster unbiased when starting a research project?

+ Wrestling with explore vs. exploit during a project

+ Pollsters are constantly innovating and evolving

+ Meeting voters where they are to conduct polling

+ "data is great"

+ "smart pollsters know their role"

+ Helping clients understand the value of research

+ How pollsters work to help a client put them in the best spot to succeed

+ The inside scoop of the fraternity of pollsters

+ Does polling happen every day?

+ Why you should participate in a poll

+ How Adam manages his firm and works with his staff