OODAcon 2022: Canceling the Apocalypse – Funding the Next Generation of Innovation

Panel Description:  What problem sets and global risks represent strategic investment opportunities that help reduce those risks, but also ensure future global competitiveness in key areas of national defense?  This session will provide insights from investors making key investments in these technologies and fostering future high-value innovation.

Panelists Biographies

Matt O’Connell is a venture capitalist with extensive experience in telecommunications, digital mapping and location technology, operations strategy, project management, finance, and venture capital.  In May 2020, O’Connell became an Operating Partner at Data Collective Venture Capital (DCVC) (Palo Alto and San Francisco).  Mr. O’Connell was a Managing Partner of Seraphim Capital from Jan 2018 to April 2020. He continues to serve on their Investment Committee.  From October 2015 to July 2016, O’Connell was CEO of OneWeb, a telecom start-up seeking to build a constellation of low-orbiting satellites.

Prior to joining OneWeb, he was President and CEO of GeoEye. In January 2013, he concluded the sale of GeoEye to DigitalGlobe. Under his leadership from spring 2003, when he became its full-time CEO, GeoEye grew from 60 employees producing $9 million of revenue per year, with an equity value of zero and a total enterprise value of $33 million to 760 employees producing $360 million (2012), with an equity value of approximately $800 million and a total enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion. GeoEye was a leading global provider of satellite and aerial imagery, geospatial information products and solutions, and location analytics. GeoEye was publicly traded (Nasdaq) and listed on the Russell 3000 index.

O’Connell has been recognized as a thought leader in the geospatial intelligence industry.  Under his leadership, GeoEye achieved a reputation for sustained innovation in many fields including creative structuring and financing of Government contracts. During his tenure, the company established a global network of resellers and affiliates, completed three acquisitions, and introduced several innovative products. (LinkedIn)

Matt O’Connell | LinkedIn

Jordan Blashek is the President, COO, and co-founder of America’s Frontier Fund, where he oversees the strategy, management, and operations of the organization.  Previously, Jordan was the Vice President of Business Formation at Schmidt Futures, a new policy, philanthropy, and investment fund founded by former Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy Schmidt. In that role, Jordan oversaw the organization’s national security, technology platforms, and economic competitiveness investment programs. Jordan started his career as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served two combat tours in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. He completed his service after five years, reaching the rank of Captain and receiving numerous awards for leadership.

Jordan is also the author of the bestselling non-fiction title, Union: A Democrat, a Republican, and a Search for Common Ground. He currently serves on the board of Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that serves America’s first responders and military veterans. He was the founding Chairman of the Chief of Staff Association and a Venture Partner at J-Ventures Fund. Jordan graduated with a B.A. from Princeton University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. (America’s Frontier Fund).

Twitter: @JordanBlashek;  Jordan Blashek | LinkedIn

By Jordan Blashek:

• Union: A Democrat, a Republican, and a Search for Common Ground by Jordan Blashek and Christopher Haugh

Further Resources:

• America’s Frontier Fund
• Schmidt Futures
• America’s Frontier Fund and the Quad Investor Network
• A Proactive National Technology Strategy in the Great Power Competition with China

OODAcon is about understanding the future and developing the resiliency to thrive and survive in an age of exponential disruption.

Society, technology, and institutions are confronting unprecedented change. The rapid acceleration of innovation, disruptive technologies and infrastructures, and new modes of network-enabled conflict require leaders to not only think outside the box but to think without the box.

The OODAcon conference series brings together the hackers, thinkers, strategists, disruptors, leaders, technologists, and creators with one foot in the future to discuss the most pressing issues of the day and provide insight into the ways technology is evolving. OODAcon is not just about understanding the future but developing the resiliency to thrive and survive in an age of disruption.

OODAcon is the next-generation event for understanding the next generation of risks and opportunities.

OODA Network Members receive a 50% discount on ticket prices. For more on network benefits and to sign up see: Join OODA Loop

Please register to attend today and be a part of the conversation.