Most organizations strive for strategic alignment, but in reality, strategy lives in slide decks, plans in spreadsheets, and risks in separate systems. By the time information reaches executives, it is often outdated, turning alignment into a periodic exercise rather than an ongoing capability.
In aerospace and defense programs, where coordination across engineering, operations, cost, schedule, and risk is critical, this disconnect makes it difficult to maintain a clear line of sight from strategic priorities to execution.
In this session, we will explore how organizations can move from misalignment to decisions guided by a true golden thread, using unified data to provide ongoing decision guidance from strategy through initiatives, delivery, risks, and outcomes. You will learn how to:
- Connect familiar data sources into a unified view without rebuilding your planning approach
- Reveal how changes ripple across plans in real time
- Clarify trade-offs by exposing competing priorities and resource constraints
- Shift leadership conversations from static reporting to dynamic decision-making
Speaker:
Carissa Christensen
Kevin Coggins
Ronla Henry-Reeves
Russ Teehan
Francesco Panerai is an Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research covers advanced materials for extreme environments, transport in porous media, and hypersonic aerothermodynamics. Prior to Illinois, he was a research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center. He received his PhD and Research Master in Aeronautics and Aerospace from von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Belgium) and a M.Sc. and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Perugia (Italy). He is a recipient of the 2019 Air Force Young Investigator Award and is an AIAA Associate Fellow. He is one of the founding members of the Center for Hypersonics and Entry Systems Studies (CHESS) at Illinois.
Carissa Bryce Christensen is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of BryceTech, LLC, based in Alexandria, VA. She previously co-founded defense contractor The Tauri Group, acquired by LMI in 2019, and quantum computing software firm QxBranch, acquired by Rigetti Computing in 2019. She is an active tech investor and has served on several early-stage boards. Ms. Christensen is an internationally recognized expert on the satellite and space industry, known for rigorous analysis and innovative, data-driven strategy. She is a Senior Advisor to the annual US Space Force Schriever Wargame. She serves on the Senior Advisory Council of the Aerospace Corporation Center for Space Policy and Strategy, serves on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space, and chairs the US board of the UN-affiliated Space Generation Advisory Council. She is a founding member of the Future Space Leaders Foundation and chairs its Advisory Board. Ms. Christensen previously served on the National Research Council Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable, which advises NASA, and served on the Space Committee of the Defense Innovation Board. Ms. Christensen is a Harvard Business School Entrepreneur-in-Residence. She guest lectures at universities including Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. She has testified before Congress and Parliament committees on the space industry. She publishes extensively, is often cited by major media outlets, and has appeared in commercial space documentaries by The Financial Times, Bloomberg and HBO.