Advisory Board

Abimbola H. Alale is currently serving as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Abuja, Nigeria. She holds a postgraduate degree in Space Studies and an MBA degree from the International Space University, Strasbourg, France. A current Ph.D. student of Peace, Security &Strategic Studies at the Institute of Governance & Development Studies, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. For over seventeen years, she has pursued an active career in the Space Sector, a career that began at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) where, as the Assistant Project Manager she was part of the team that championed the manufacture and launch of the first sub- Saharan African communication satellite, NigComSat-1 in May 2007. Abimbola Alale actively worked on some national priority projects such as the NigComSat-1, NigComSat-1R projects and the establishment of a National Direct-to-Home Digital Transmission Centre. She is presently driving the full commercialization of NIGCOMSAT Ltd.

Clayton Mowry has worked for over 20 years in the commercial launch and satellite sectors serving in government, as the leader of an industry trade association and as a senior executive for leading commercial launch services companies.

Mr. Mowry joined Blue Origin in September 2016 to lead global sales and marketing for the innovative private company developing the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle and other technologies to enable commercial satellite and human space transportation.

Mowry previously served for 15 years as the President and Chairman of Arianespace, Inc. As the head of the Arianespace’s U.S. subsidiary, he was responsible for managing the company’s sales, marketing, strategy, government relations and corporate communications activities.  Before joining Arianespace, Mr. Mowry served for six years as Executive Director at the Satellite Industry Association, a non-profit alliance of U.S. satellite operators, manufacturers and ground equipment suppliers.Prior to his role at SIA, he worked as a commercial space industry analyst and Senior International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

Clay Mowry received a Master of Business of Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Arts in politics and government from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.  In addition to his work at Blue Origin, Mr. Mowry currently serves on the advisory boards of Via Satellite magazine and the Space Generation Advisory Council. Mr. Mowry is also the founder and Chairman of the Future Space Leaders Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the career development of young space and satellite industry professionals.

Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schrogl is the Chief Strategy Officer of the European Space Agency (ESA, Headquarters in Paris, France). From 2007 to 2011 he was the Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, Austria, the leading European think tank for space policy. Prior to this, he was the Head of the Corporate Development and External Relations Department in the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany. Previously he also worked with the German Ministry for Post and Telecommunications and the German Space Agency (DARA) in Bonn, Germany.

He has been a delegate to numerous international forums and has served from 2014 to 2016 as chairman of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the highest body for space law making, comprising 73 Member States. He also was chairman of various European and global committees (ESA International Relations Committee and two plenary working groups of the UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee, the one on the launching State and the other on the registration practice, both leading to UN General Assembly Resolutions). He presented, respectively testified, at hearings of the European Parliament and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kai-Uwe Schrogl is the President of the International Institute of Space Law, Member of the International Academy of Astronautics (recently chairing its Commission on policy, economics and regulations) and the Russian Academy for Cosmonautics as well as Corresponding Member of the French Air and Space Academy. He holds a doctorate degree in political science and lectures international relations as an Honorary Professor at Tübingen University, Germany.

Kai-Uwe Schrogl has written or co-edited 15 books and more than 130 articles, reports and papers in the fields of space policy and law as well as telecommunications policy. He launched and edited until 2011 the “Yearbook on Space Policy” and the book series “Studies in Space Policy” both published by ESPI at SpringerWienNewYork. He sits on editorial boards of various international journals in the field of space policy and law (Space Policy, Zeitschrift für Luft- und Weltraumrecht, Studies in Space Law/Nijhoff; previously also Acta Astronautica).

Dr. Pablo Gabriel de León has been working in the space field for three decades. He is an aerospace engineer, has a postgraduate degree in space studies and a doctorate in history of science and technology.

Dr. de León is the Director of the Human Spaceflight Laboratory at the University of North Dakota (UND) and is also a professor of that university. Pablo de León has been also a Principal and Science Investigator in several NASA-funded projects, among which is the development of space suits, and an analog planetary station for the Moon and Mars.

Dr. De León was also integration manager on an experimental satellite (Pehuensat-1, and Payload Manager of seven experiments (Project PADE, Argentine Experiments Package) which flew in the Space Shuttle (STS-108). He is also a graduate of the International Space University (SSP ’97, Houston) and was a founding member of the SGAC in Vienna in 1999.