Panelists

Tim Booher is Senior Vice President of Special Projects at Leidos, where he focuses on the intersection of defense and technology—turning advanced R&D into war-winning, fielded capability. Previously he was Vice President of Autonomy at Boeing, leading enterprise autonomy across commercial and defense programs spanning perception, robotics, navigation, certification, and trusted systems, and earlier led corporate strategy and portfolio initiatives. Tim has also held senior engineering and security leadership roles at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, HSBC, and Colgate-Palmolive, and served 20 years in government, including as a DARPA program manager. He continues to serve in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and on National Academies panels, and he holds degrees from MIT and AFIT.

Edward Crawford is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Coltala Holdings, Owner of Coltala Aerospace, a growing aerospace platform serving commercial and defense customers. Coltala is a long-term focused infrastructure company building enduring businesses across air, land and water — including aerospace MRO and engineering, one of the top real estate engineering firms in the country, and one of the oldest water companies in Texas.

Edward leads with a “mission and margin” philosophy focused on strengthening America’s industrial base through disciplined ownership and operational excellence.
A U.S. Navy intelligence officer and Bronze Star recipient, he served with Special Operations Command South and advised SEAL Teams during Operation Enduring Freedom. He began his career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, where he founded a coffee cooperative that still operates today.
Edward previously served as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs and holds an MBA from MIT Sloan as a Leadership Scholar, along with graduate degrees from Tulane University and a BA from TCU. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Founder of the War Veterans Fund, Co-Founder of the Sentinel Defense Forum, a Founding Board Member of NYSE Texas, and serves as Membership Chair and active member of the Dallas YPO chapter.

Will Edwards serves as the co-founder and CEO of Firehawk Aerospace, an end-to-end energetics company revolutionizing the supply chain to fuel the future of defense. Focused on solid rocket motors and missile integration, Firehawk  3D prints propellant for rocket motors using a patented additive manufacturing process.
Edwards co-founded Firehawk Aerospace in 2019. Under his guidance, Firehawk has evolved from a nascent startup into a reliable defense ally, providing cutting-edge solutions to national security clients. His leadership has enabled various testing initiatives, raised venture funding, secured government contracts, and essential partnerships, introducing transformative speed and agility to the rocket propulsion and energetics sector.

Edwards offers a distinct viewpoint in the aerospace sector. Prior to establishing Firehawk, he occupied leadership positions in corporate development and assisted in launching various early-stage technology startups. In 2021, Edwards was recognized for his pioneering work in additive-manufactured rocket propulsion and was named to Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing & Industry.

Edwards earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arkansas, where he filed and was granted his first technology patent. He is based in the Dallas area with his family.

Will Edwards serves as the co-founder and CEO of Firehawk Aerospace, an end-to-end energetics company revolutionizing the supply chain to fuel the future of defense. Focused on solid rocket motors and missile integration, Firehawk  3D prints propellant for rocket motors using a patented additive manufacturing process.

Edwards co-founded Firehawk Aerospace in 2019. Under his guidance, Firehawk has evolved from a nascent startup into a reliable defense ally, providing cutting-edge solutions to national security clients. His leadership has enabled various testing initiatives, raised venture funding, secured government contracts, and essential partnerships, introducing transformative speed and agility to the rocket propulsion and energetics sector.

Edwards offers a distinct viewpoint in the aerospace sector. Prior to establishing Firehawk, he occupied leadership positions in corporate development and assisted in launching various early-stage technology startups. In 2021, Edwards was recognized for his pioneering work in additive-manufactured rocket propulsion and was named to Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing & Industry.

Edwards earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arkansas, where he filed and was granted his first technology patent. He is based in the Dallas area with his family.

Nader Jalili is the inaugural Mary and Richard Templeton Dean of Engineering at Southern Methodist University's Lyle School of Engineering. He joined SMU on March 2023. In his four and a half years as head of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, Jalili led a significant increase in external research awards and enrollment, as well as the creation of the Alabama Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education, designed to better prepare future highly skilled workers through a convergence of education, research, and service. The Alabama Initiative guided multiple research projects in the core areas of automation, human-robot collaboration/integration, and augmentation. The Alabama Initiative partnered with numerous outreach programs to promote new career paths for middle and high school students in the region.

Before joining the University of Alabama, Jalili led the Northeastern Piezoactive Systems Laboratory at Northeastern University in Boston, which was formed in 2010 to model and study micro nano-electromechanical sensors and actuators. He later became associate department chair for graduate studies and research, where he facilitated the creation of several new degree programs in areas such as mechatronics, robotics, and human-machine interface, while also leading graduate student recruitment and admission and overseeing department research activities.

Prior to his tenure at UA and after completing his graduate education, he served briefly as a visiting professor at Northern Illinois University in 1999. Jalili joined Clemson University in 2000, where he helped create an industry mindset graduate program in automotive engineering at Clemson. The program has since become the main component of a major research and educational center in the Southeast, known for creating a global research and economic development venue for the automotive industry.

An active researcher, Jalili has been PI or Co-PI on more than $18 million in external funding, including grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense in the domain of vibration, control, and robotic-based manufacturing. He is the author or co-author of more than 375 peer-refereed technical publications, including 150 journal papers, two textbooks, five book chapters, and two U.S. patents. A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Jalili has chaired numerous society committees and edited several engineering academic journals. In addition, he is the recipient of more than 30 international, national, and institutional awards for his research, leadership, teaching, and service.

Jalili received his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut.

Ryan Morfin is the CEO of Lowndes Square (“LSQ”), an asset management firm investing on behalf of several family offices in non-correlated asset classes such as: commercial real estate, private equity and venture capital. Throughout his career, he has held several executive management roles, including at U.S. and international portfolio companies owned by clients of well-known PE firms and family offices.

Immediately prior to his LSQ role, Mr. Morfin was the founder and CEO of Wentworth Management Services, a holding company that acquired 10 wealth management businesses over a 5-year period creating the 20th largest independent US wealth management firm by revenues. Under his leadership, Wentworth grew revenues by 20x to over $200mm in five years and the platform had over 2,200 financial advisors that managed over $300Bn of AUM. In July 2022, the business was sold to a strategic investor at an all-time high valuation for broker dealer businesses delivering a 15x to his initial investors.

He is currently the host of the Non-Beta Alpha podcast, where he has insightful conversations with thought leaders like Jocko Willink, Dr. Oz, General Flynn and General McChrystal among many other asset management and wealth management CEOs. Ryan does national and local media speaking about economics and capital markets issues as well.

Ryan is also the founding partner of IronGate Capital Advisors, a defense technology investment platform that focuses on funding innovation in the defense department and in the intelligence community. The fund has invested in over 150 companies in the last 5 years and is in the process of launching its second closed end fund. Mr. Morfin was a founding partner of Maroon Capital Group, a NYC based merchant bank which focused on PE investing. Previously, at Countrywide Merchant Banking, he established and scaled the firm’s expansion into private equity, creating the business plan as well as sourcing, evaluating, and underwriting the group’s investment opportunities. Mr. Morfin began his career at Morgan Stanley as an analyst in the CMBS/CRE CDO group, later becoming an Associate in the firm’s Merchant Banking division. In that role, he worked on the team that made principal investments for various MSRE fund vehicles on behalf of institutional clients.

Ryan is politically engaged in education policy, national security policy and Hispanic political outreach. Mr. Morfin also sits on the Board of Directors for Voz Media, IM Financial Services, Vega Wealth Technologies and Albers Aerospace. Mr. Morfin holds Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from the University of Chicago.

Matt Muns is a seasoned Technology & Consulting entrepreneur and executive with extensive knowledge in emerging technologies, the federal defense departments and commercial aerospace & defense industry. He has overseen growing and successfully exiting 2 technology service start-ups that created $100m’s in shareholder and enterprise value.

Matt exited the board and leadership of his last company, Argano, a Digital Transformation Consultancy firm that had grown to $400m in revenue and 3,000+ employees at the end of 2024. His current company, Redhawk, was a spin-out of the federal and defense business of that company and today his team is working on some of the most critical defense technology imperatives to empower the U.S. warfighter.

Matt also invests in emerging Aerospace and Defense and Dual-Use technology and other “real” business technology through his family office and serves on the board or in advisory roles for many of these companies.

Matt holds a J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law and maintains a Texas Bar card. He completed his undergraduate work at Southern Methodist University in Dallas where he also lettered in Football. Matt has served on various Chapter, Regional and International Boards for YPO and is actively involved with the SMU Letterman’s Association. He resides in Southlake, Texas with his wife, Sarah, and 3 children.

Suresh Narayanan is the Founder and CEO of Jets MRO, LLC, an FAA certified aircraft maintenance, repair, and operations company headquartered in Dallas with expanded operations in Miami. Under his leadership, Jets MRO has distinguished itself in the aviation industry through its commitment to employee retention, transparent customer communication, and family-friendly workplace culture that challenges traditional industry norms.

Suresh's path to entrepreneurship was shaped by early exposure to the aviation maintenance sector, having grown up visiting his father’s  repair station. He brings academic credentials from both Southern Methodist University and Florida State University, combining formal business education with deep industry knowledge to build an innovative approach to aviation and aerospace.

As an active member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), Suresh regularly engages with peer networks for strategic guidance and organizes forum retreats. He also serves as an advisor to DARPA and Capital Factory on their AI aviation safety initiatives.

Bryan Perkins has over 20 years of aerospace manufacturing experience, during which he has held many leadership positions. As CEO, President, and Founder of Novaria Group, he continues to build a growing enterprise focused on Aerospace Tier 2 manufacturing. Since 2011, he has closed over 20 aerospace component manufacturing transactions, all of which were privately-held, multi-generational, or entrepreneur-owned businesses. 

In addition to serving as CEO, he has taken on a variety of hands-on operational leadership roles within Novaria during various stages of scaling. His public and private company experience extends to the leadership and successful closure of multiple transactions, integrations and supplier-customer negotiations with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. 

Prior to founding Novaria group, he spent 10 years in various aerospace manufacturing, operating and corporate development roles with Parker Hannifin.  

Antonio Sanchez brings over 25 years of cybersecurity expertise to his role as Chief Strategy Officer at Quantum XChange, a fast growing quantum encryption software. Here, Antonio leads technology, financial strategy and helps organizations prepare for and defend against emerging quantum threats. A CISSP-certified leader with experience in product management, marketing, and technical sales, he's known for his ability to make complex cybersecurity concepts accessible to any audience.

Beyond his company role, Antonio is passionate about mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and supporting education initiatives in underserved communities.