

Thu, 06 Feb
|Main Stage - Planetarium
Panel Discussion - Exploring New Horizons through cross sector collaboration
Gain insights into the opportunities and challenges of entering the space sector, the importance of strategic partnerships, and the support that is available through the space ecosystem to support growth.
Time & Location
06 Feb 2025, 11:30 – 12:15
Main Stage - Planetarium
About the event
Explore how businesses from various industries can leverage their existing capabilities and create new partnerships to pivot into the space sector. The session will address the challenges that non-space companies in adjacent sectors face when navigating the complexities of the space sector; and highlight the support that is available to SME’s via the Space Ecosystem to support their growth.
The session will also examine the opportunities for growth by developing strategic partnerships between space and non-space companies to create innovative solutions that will enable mutual growth into new and existing markets.
The panel will discuss examples of how non-space companies have successfully developed their capabilities, enabling them to attract and market new business opportunities within the space sector. Through these examples, the panel will consider strategies that have been effective in helping businesses pivot into the space sector.
This session aims to provide insights into the opportunities and challenges of entering the space sector, the importance of strategic partnerships, and the support that is available through the space ecosystem to support growth.
Speaker Information

Chair - Christina MacLeod serves as the Cluster Development Project Manager at Space Scotland, where she leads on Space Scotland's UK Space Agency's Space Cluster Development Fund and the Space Cluster Partnership Fund projects. These UKSA-funded initiatives aim to accelerate the development of a thriving, resilient, and well-connected space ecosystem across the UK, and Christina focuses on this work in Scotland.
She works closely with a network of cluster leads and development agencies across Scotland and the rest of the UK, managing ongoing collaborative projects aimed at fostering innovation and stimulating economic growth, while also working to support the needs of organisations within Scotland. These initiatives include sustainability work, skills initiatives, and cross-sector workshops that help unlock the potential of space technologies in diverse industries.
Christina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Edinburgh, and was Chair and Founder of Women in Space Scotland, an organisation dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion within the space sector.

Anne Ford – Managing Director PGM Reball
Anne Ford runs PGM Reball with her husband Mehdi Sabet and is a proud UK manufacturer of small precision ballscrews that fly in the demanding and harsh conditions of aerospace and space. She is passionate about manufacturing in the Midlands, SMEs and the role of women in the workplace, particularly in engineering.
Following a 30 year career in Human Resources in the corporate world Anne joined her husband’s engineering business in 2014 and applied her expertise in process mapping and project management to underpin the business with strong cloud-based systems achieving the aerospace quality standard AS9100 two years later.
PGM Reball now has an unrivalled roster of multi-national customers who choose to work with this husband and wife team because of their innovative approach to making bespoke, lightweight and compact actuation systems not available from traditional manufacturers. Manufacturing ballscrews for Space applications is now a significant element of the business.
Her biggest regret is that she wishes they had started the business 20 years earlier!

Dr Andrew Mair, Chief Executive, Midlands Aerospace Alliance
Andrew set up the MAA in the early 2000s as the aerospace cluster organisation for the Midlands, now one of the most successful in aerospace across the world with the biggest presence of any region at the Farnborough Airshow and the biggest UK presence at the Paris Airshow. Under Andrew’s leadership, the MAA has also become a recognised leader in designing and making technology development programmes like NATEP 1, DRAMA, Aerospace UP and Pivot into Space really work for supply chain companies.

Richard is a leader in thermal management research, specialising in novel thermoelectric technologies. With extensive experience spanning simulation, materials science, and device development, Richard has successfully driven advancements across a broad range of thermoelectric materials and device types. His work aims to bridge the gap between research and commercial success, enabling the development of innovative thermoelectric solutions.
As the principal investigator of a research team focused on the next generation of thermoelectric devices, Richard is dedicated to solving the complex challenges of the field. His leadership and expertise have earned him recognition, including being awarded the prestigious Innovate UK-funded Future Leader Fellowship grant. This support allows Richard to champion the development of commercially viable thermoelectric devices, particularly in the area of flexible thermoelectric technologies.
Richard is passionate about facilitating the growth of UK-based manufacturing for thermoelectric devices, working collaboratively to drive sustainable, high-performance innovations in this rapidly evolving industry.

Chris Hall
Chris Hall is the Space Applications Delivery Lead at the UK Space Agency.
Chris leads on the UK’s involvement in the ESA BASS programme and has over seven years’ experience of exploiting space to support companies of all sizes that are developing innovative products, applications, and services that deliver real change to customers and both direct and indirect benefits to UK citizens and the wider economy.
The UK Space Agency exists to boost UK prosperity, understand the universe, and protect our planet and outer space.