Kevin M. O’Connell is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and a recognized expert on space commerce, the global space economy, and US national security matters. For over four decades, he has focused on space commercialization and technological competitiveness and how to advance them in global markets. He has also focused on how these innovations impact US and allied national security. O’Connell is the chief executive officer of Space Economy Rising, an advisory firm to space companies and other stakeholders in the space economy. The firm provides strategy, finance, and regulatory advice; helps investors assess space market trends; and identifies opportunities for increased participation in the space economy. O’Connell is the 2024 winner of the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s Lundahl-Finney Lifetime Achievement Award for his enduring work on geospatial issues and space commercialization.