Moderator: Daniel Welch is Co-Founder and Senior Research Consultant at independent research provider, Valour Consultancy, established in 2012. He is responsible for Valour’s IFEC business, producing annual syndicated reports around the provision of In-Flight Connectivity and running the company’s flagship quarterly IFC tracker. His work is continuously sourced by vendors throughout the IFC value chain, airlines, and investment management firms. With over a decade’s worth of experience in IFEC, Dan is now regularly involved in custom projects for clients positioned right across the value chain, including airlines, satellite operators and avionics manufacturers.

Panellist: William (Bill) Milroy is chairman and CTO of ThinKom Solutions, a leading provider of IFC antennas that deliver fast, resilient and reliable connectivity “from every orbit to every seat.” Prior to co-founding ThinKom in 2000, Bill held the position of Senior Engineering Fellow within Raytheon’s Electronic Systems segment. While there, he managed and lead the RF antenna design, development and production of a wide range of antenna array implementations for commercial and military markets. He is the inventor or co-inventor of over 40 awarded and pending U.S. patents in the fields of scattering, materials, microwave devices and antennas.

Panellist: Neale Faulkner joined Inmarsat in 2016 and is responsible for the account management and market development of Inmarsat’s award-winning GX Aviation high-speed inflight connectivity solution across the Middle East region. With over 20 years’ experience in the Aviation and Communications industries, Neale has held roles with aviation suppliers such as SITAONAIR and Mercator having spent the last decade focusing on the connected aircraft, including connectivity for passengers and crew, as well as having extensive experience within the telecommunications industry across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Panellist: David Helfgott. As Chief Executive Officer of SmartSky Networks, David has responsibility for the company’s strategic direction, to drive the completion, launch and expansion of its ground-breaking broadband Air-to-ground (ATG) network, and to implement its product development and operational programs, serving the growing connectivity needs of business, general and commercial aviation markets. As a 20+ year industry veteran, he has extensive experience in airborne communications, satellite broadband, mobile telecommunications and commercial & government SATCOM networking services.  David has held leadership positions at Phasor, Inmarsat, Cobham, DataPath and SES.  He holds a BA degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Darden School.

Panellist: Ben Griffin is VP Mobility and AMEA Region at OneWeb. Ben has over 20 years’ experience in IFC, with notable contributions to companies such as ARINC, AeroMobile, Inmarsat and currently OneWeb. Ben brings a wealth of experience from the IFC service provision perspective, including significant satellite provider insight spanning both GEO and LEO technologies.

Moderator: Christopher Wood MBE is a campaigner and lobbyist in aviation and disability, he is also an Aviation Accessibility Consultant, working with airlines, designers and airports. Additionally, he is a member of the UK Civil Aviation Authorities ‘Access to Air Travel’ advisory group and also the Heathrow Access Advisory Group. As well as a desire to create and improve the whole air access journey, Christopher has also set his sights on bringing wheelchair air travel in line with land and sea. His goal is to establish the solution “to enable a wheelchair user to stay in their chair whilst on a flight” – he is now one third of the Air4Alll consortium that has designed the perfect answer without airlines losing any pax places – there can be no more excuses.

Panellist: Walt Fluharty is a board member for All Wheels Up, a non-profit organization working to make air travel more accessible, dignified, and safe for people with disabilities.  Among other activities, AWU has dynamically tested wheelchairs to aircraft standards, and worked with the US Congress to fund a 2021 study which concluded that wheelchair space on airplanes is technically feasible.   Walt’s 30+ year supplier management career at Boeing involved the development, certification, build, delivery, and installation of aircraft passenger seating.  He retired in 2020 as the supplier strategy manager for seating on all Boeing commercial aircraft.

Panellist: Iris Kowen, Air Travel Accessibility Consultant, Paloma- Wings For All. As an Air Travel Accessibility Consultant, I am dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accessible experience for all passengers. My passion for this field stems from my personal journey as a mother to a severely handicapped son, which has given me invaluable insights into the unique challenges faced by individuals with disabilities when traveling by air.

Panellist: Sebastian Tivig, Senior Manager Cabin Integration, Diehl Aviation, studied aerospace engineering in Stuttgart Germany before going on to work in safety for Airbus – looking at the effects of bird strike, engine explosions, tire bursts and more. Sebastian then moved to Diehl Aviation and became Programme Manager for the Long Range lavatory programme, and also led the pre-development of what would become later Diehl Aviation’s Skypax. Currently, he is a senior expert for cabin monuments at Diehl Aviation, a CVE for cabin safety, and is responsible for future cabin products for the retrofit business.

Moderator: Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry. With a strong focus on passenger experience, Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs. He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry. He is frequently consulted on innovations in passenger experience by airlines and technology providers.

Panellist: David Scotland leads Alaska Airlines’ inflight experience strategy focusing on Inflight Entertainment, Connectivity and Service Standards. David’s led the airline’s transition from legacy air-to-ground connectivity systems to streaming-fast satellite, and continues to push for opportunities to elevate the guest experience.

Panellist: Ben Griffin is VP Mobility and AMEA Region at OneWeb. Ben has over 20 years’ experience in IFC, with notable contributions to companies such as ARINC, AeroMobile, Inmarsat and currently OneWeb. Ben brings a wealth of experience from the IFC service provision perspective, including significant satellite provider insight spanning both GEO and LEO technologies.

Panellist: Norman Haughton is the Director of Inflight Digital Entertainment, Wi-Fi, Media Sales and Analytics. Norman has been with Air Canada for over 13 years and in charge of IFEC since 2015.

Panellist: Ben Murphy is VP of North America Sales and Accounts at Intelsat. He has been with Intelsat/Gogo for over 16 years and has over 25 years’ experience in Telecom.

Moderator: Gordon Smith is a UK-based aviation journalist. As former Group Editor at Airliner World magazine, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in the business, including the CEOs of Etihad, TAP Air Portugal, Gulf Air and Finnair. He writes extensively on a range of specialist industry topics, and regularly provides informed insight and commentary for titles including Forbes and Conde Nast Traveller. Before his pivot into aviation journalism, Gordon was a broadcast journalist at BBC News headquarters in London, producing television coverage of breaking stories from around the world.

Panellist: David Miller is CTO for Inflight Dublin (IFD), focused on driving innovation in the company’s Product and Technical Strategy including development, client deployment and partnering. David heads up the development and delivery of IFD’s Everhub product which provides an integrated platform for the delivery of IFD’s IFE content as well as partner ancillary services on IFD’s own and third-party hardware. David has over thirty-five years working in the Technology Industry in both Senior Management positions and as a Strategic Consultant. Previous organisations David has worked for include Telecom security firm Adaptive Mobile, Web Content Management firm TERMINALFOUR, Geographic Information Systems company eSpatial and Enterprise Middleware Company Iona Technologies.

Panellist: Natālija Kuzmina, Vice President, airBaltic

Panellist: Nijat Ahmadov is Platform Business Model Manager at AERQ and has over 10 years of experience in digital business management, helping to establish platform businesses. Specialising in transaction-based platform business models, Nijat uses his experience to contribute to AERENA’s overarching platform value proposition and develop a product that enables airlines to increase their ancillary revenues.

Moderator: Corinne Streichert is the founder of IFECtiv LLC an Inflight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) consulting company based on the west coast of the USA. As a multi-award winning IFEC veteran recognized for redefining and innovating customer experiences in the commercial aviation space, Corinne is also the host of the ‘On Your Flight Today’ podcast that interviews guests from all over the world talking about topics from aircraft interiors, inflight entertainment and connectivity to the overall inflight passenger experience.

Panellist: Tal Kalderon has earned a reputation as an innovative and accomplished in-flight entertainment & Connectivity (IFEC) leader with expertise in guiding state-of-the-art IFEC advancements to realize complete customer satisfaction and pacesetting business growth. His progressive experience has led to resounding success throughout his career, providing key strategic consulting and critical executive support. Since 2006, Tal has committed himself to helming crucial IFEC transformations with El AL Israel Airlines, where he has risen to the position of Head of Inflight Entertainment & Connectivity. Tal will be speaking in the session, ‘Connectivity: Enabling the passenger experience.’

Panellist: Mark Reed, Director of Business Development, North America, IFPL Group. Over his nearly two decades in industry, Mark has worked with global customers large and small to develop their in-flight entertainment and connectivity offering. Mark has many years of experience in the design, manufacture, and implementation of IFEC solutions, including in-seat power and audio. As the main contact for many of IFPL’s key customers, Mark is passionate about using his extensive industry knowledge to help customers enhance the in-flight passenger experience.

Panellist: John Wade is Vice President, Connectivity Solutions at Panasonic Avionics. He is responsible for the overall strategy, performance, and day-to-day operations of the company’s Connectivity business unit. He oversees a team of network capacity engineers and satellite experts, while working very closely with sales, engineering, and product management to drive revenue and support airlines worldwide. Wade is an industry-recognized expert who most previously served as the President of Commercial Aviation at Intelsat, which acquired GoGo’s Business Aviation business in 2020.

Panellist: Eduardo Matos was appointed Director Customer Care, Product and Hospitality of Etihad Airways in January 2023. Eduardo was previously Director Customer Service and Experience of TAP, the national airline of Portugal, with responsibility for customer care, customer experience and satisfaction and customer data. Before this role, he spent 12 years as Director of Customer Care of Portugal Telecom, the leading telecom operator in Portugal, having also participated in the turnaround of the Brazilian operator Oi owned by Portugal Telecom.

Panellist: Guillaume Vivet. As Vice President of Airline Proposition and Experience, Guillaume connects airlines with technology and services that can help them achieve their desired passenger and business outcomes. Prior to joining Inmarsat, Guillaume held various customer experience and engineering roles at Cathay Pacific and Air Canada.

Moderator: Satu Dahl, Inflight Editor and Aerospace Media Awards Finalist, is once again looking forward to moderating an insightful panel discussion at the CabinSpace Live theatre at the Aircraft Interiors Expo. Over a career spanning almost 20 years, Satu has edited several aviation magazines, held management roles with the European Regions Airline Association and Travel Radar and is a highly regarded aviation journalist who has tremendous passion for the industry.

Panellist: Melanie Berry has been the Director of Customer Experience at Iberia since May 2017. She has 25 years of expertise in transforming customer satisfaction, operational performance, sustainability and employee engagement for global airlines. During her time at Iberia, the customer experience has been improved with a completely revamped journey, through digitalisation in all areas, the introduction of free messaging, a new catering provider, improved amenities and delivery of the next generation of aircraft.

Panellist: Markus Höllerer is the head of strategy and products at Recaro Aircraft Seating, where he is responsible for corporate strategy from a global perspective, product management, market intelligence and business development activities. Höllerer earned an aeronautical engineering degree and an MBA, and has more than 20 years of experience in cabin interiors. Before becoming head of strategy and products, he worked as the program manager for platform development of the CL3710 economy class seat.

Panellist: Alejandro Nuñez Vicente is a 23-year-old industrial designer from Madrid and is founder and CEO of Chaise Longue. His young start-up company is developing and designing the Chaise Longue aircraft module, a double level seat that will change the way people travel on long-haul flights. Alejandro’s design optimises the space inside the cabin, creating more comfort and a better flight experience for passengers, whilst reducing costs and increasing sustainability for airlines. This year at AIX he will be unveiling his new proof of concept prototypes, as well as several new surprises to disrupt air travel as we know it now.

Panellist: Chris Brady. Chris’ 30-year career in aviation, began with British Airways, but took off when in 1990 he joined Virgin Atlantic, ultimately as General Manager Product Development, responsible for innovation across the entire passenger experience – from livery to uniforms, business class lounges to seats.  His introduction to aircraft seat manufacturing came in 1997, when in a JV with Reynard Motorsport, Virgin created its own seat manufacturer to develop the airline’s first lie-flat beds; Chris was Managing Director or Reynard Aviation at its inception, before recruiting a management team to run it.

In 2000 he co-founded FlightStore and as CEO secured venture capital backing for the start-up software business that provided online shopping via seatback TV. After floating the business on AIM in 2003, he founded Acro Aircraft Seating with two former colleagues from Reynard Aviation. Initially developing electrical actuators for business class seats the, in step with the low-cost carrier revolution taking place, Acro developed an economy seat for low-cost carriers.