AIAC AND BRADFORD SPACE HOST SPACE INDUSTRY EVENT AT MAR-A-LAGO
For Immediate Release
Palm Beach, FL - January 14, 2025 AIAC and its affiliate, Bradford Space, sponsored a reception, luncheon, and presentation honoring Jim Bridenstine, Former NASA Administrator, at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 14. Mr. Bridenstine’s address, entitled “Taking Humanity to the Moon and Beyond,” discussed the challenges and opportunities in the commercial space industry. He also unveiled the Cortado Ventures Frontier Fund, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at pioneering the next frontier of space exploration and technology.
Invited guests included top corporate CEOs, global investors, and visionaries in the space industry who shared their views on the sector’s future. The luncheon included a tour of the Mar-a-Lago Club. That evening, AIAC and Bradford Space hosted a formal dinner at the Palm Beach Yacht Club.
L. M. Levie, AIAC and Bradford Space Chairman and Explorers Club Trustee, joined fellow sponsors Cortado Ventures and Marlon Space. Mr. Levie greeted the following distinguished guests:
Mike Moradi, General Partner, Cortado Ventures and Cortado Space Ventures
Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, CEO, Marlon Space
Hon. Phil Lader, Esq., Senior Advisor, Morgan Stanley, Director, Rand Corp., formerly Chair, WPP plc, Ambassador to the UK, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget
Erek Nimphius, CFA, Managing Director, Brown Brothers Harriman
John Lapides, President, United Aluminum
Cliff Frates, Co-Founder, Citizen Energy Oklahoma
Bailey Siegfried, Director, NORDAM Aerospace
Eric Smyth, CFA, Partner, Balerion Space Ventures
Edward Varnier Argles, Director, Oman Space Agency
Dr. Gary Gauba, Founder, The CXO Fund
Arun Agarwal, CEO, NEXXT
Tarek Waked and Ryan Kriser, General Partners, Type One Ventures
Dr. Yianni Psaltis, Director of Strategy and Investment, Peter H. Diamantes Ventures
Richard Caplin, Founder, HCA Group
Tina Park, CEO, The Park Group
Marcus Federie, CEO, Tholus Capital
Matt Stephani, President, Cavanal Hill Investment Management
Dan Gay, Partner, KSV Global Fund
Andrew Breger, Partner, KSV Global Fund
Nabyl Charania, LP, Andresen Horowitz, serial entrepreneur, X Prize Vision Circle
Mr. Levie noted, “AIAC and Bradford were privileged to co-host this auspicious reception and luncheon featuring Jim Bridenstine, a highly respected and influential figure in the space sector. His perspectives on space travel, exploration, booster rocket, launch system, and satellite technology were keenly appreciated by our distinguished guests. The ensuing discussion and networking proved to be equally valuable.”
About The Honorable Jim Bridenstine
Jim Bridenstine was the 13th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, serving from 2018 to 2021. As NASA Administrator, he has led in advancing American aeronautic, science, and space exploration objectives.
Under Bridenstine’s leadership, NASA launched its new human lunar exploration mission, the Artemis program. As announced by Vice President Mike Pence in March 2019, the Artemis program seeks to land the first woman and the next man on the surface of the Moon, the first human landing since the end of NASA’s Apollo missions in 1972. Through the Artemis program, NASA is developing the Orion crew capsule and the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built. These state-of-the-art systems will help build the Gateway, a lunar orbiting space station that will give American astronauts more access to the surface of the Moon than ever before. All lunar exploration efforts under Artemis are designed to prove our technology and perfect our capabilities to live and work on a different world in preparation for a future crewed mission to Mars.
Bridenstine managed the continued commercial resupply of the International Space Station and has led agency efforts to partner with American businesses on the Commercial Crew Program. This program seeks to once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, something not done since the end of the Shuttle program in 2011. Additionally, Bridenstine established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program to partner with private enterprise in landing rovers on the lunar surface. These rovers will contain tools and science experiments in preparation for the arrival of American astronauts.
During Bridenstine’s tenure, the agency has reinforced aeronautic development of the X-59, a quiet supersonic aircraft, and the X-57, the agency’s first all-electric airplane. He has also backed NASA’s aeronautical innovators to develop the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management to facilitate the safe use of drones for commercial enterprise and in everyday life. The agency’s dynamic science portfolio under Bridenstine included a life-seeking Mars rover, enhancing the nation’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites and final preparations of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Prior to serving at NASA, Bridenstine was elected in 2012 to represent Oklahoma’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served on the Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Bridenstine’s career in federal service began in 1998 as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, flying the E-2C Hawkeye off the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. It was there that he flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and accrued most of his 1,900 flight hours and 333 arrested landings on an aircraft carrier. He later moved to the F-18 Hornet and flew at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, the parent command to TOPGUN.
After transitioning from active duty to the U.S. Navy Reserve, Bridenstine returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to be the executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium.
Bridenstine completed a triple major at Rice University and earned his MBA at Cornell University. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bridenstine
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. AIAC companies manufacture materials, components, assemblies, packaging, equipment, and finished products. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products and serve as critical suppliers for major airports, schools, hospitals, performing art and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, signage and illumination structures in North America, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades and blisks for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell. AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler- Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
Another AIAC affiliate, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance emergency portable power generators required during natural disasters, including extreme climate events worldwide. Clients include government agencies and the International Red Cross.
For further information, please see:
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, and exploration. The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Explorers Club, a 120-year-old organization whose members have pioneered the exploration of the earth, the oceans, an outer space. AIAC and its affiliates, Bradford Space, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, Super Alloy Manufacturing Solutions, and Champlain Cable are Partners of The Explorers Club. In 2024, AIAC Companies proudly served as a corporate sponsor of Hubert Sagniere’s historic circumnavigation of the earth in a single-engine plane (www.flightaroundtheglobe.com).
AIAC’s other beneficiaries include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the JFK School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Sierra Club, and the Trilateral Commission.
For further information, see:
https://www.aiac.com/our-values
About Cortado Ventures
Cortado Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to shaping the Midcontinent’s success story for generations to come. The firm goes beyond raising capital to support businesses, leveraging its team’s extensive experience as leaders and innovators to help portfolio companies accelerate growth through strategic planning, training, and guidance.
Founded in 2020 by a team of seasoned CEOs and industry veterans, Cortado Ventures focuses on supporting founder-led entrepreneurs and startups with innovative, disruptive, and business-to-business ideas. The firm targets sectors such as insurtech, biotech, aerospace, fintech, energy tech, and ag tech, which align naturally with the Midcontinent region's strengths.
Cortado Ventures aims to build a legacy of successful technology companies contributing to Oklahoma’s economic renaissance. Its competitive edge lies in sourcing proprietary opportunities through an extensive network and investing in overlooked and underfunded tech sectors where the team has deep operating experience.
The firm emphasizes investing in smart and ambitious entrepreneurs who utilize technology to scale rapidly. It targets industries reflecting the Midcontinent’s historical and emerging strengths, including energy tech, logistics, life sciences, and the future of work. With its seasoned CEO leadership, each General Partner at Cortado Ventures brings a track record of successfully leading innovative companies through transformative growth.
For further information, please see:
About Marlon Ventures
Marlan Space is a key joint venture partner with U.S.-based Loft Orbital. Their venture, named Orbitworks, is set to become the first private space infrastructure company in the Middle East, focusing on the production of commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations.
With an initial investment exceeding $100 million, Orbitworks plans to construct a state-of-the-art facility in the UAE, where up to 50 satellites weighing 500 kilograms each will be produced annually. The facility, expected to begin operations by early 2025, will leverage advanced hardware and software technologies to meet the growing demand for satellite-based services in telecommunications, Earth observation, and scientific research.
Loft Orbital, established in 2017 and known for its rapid and reliable deployment of payloads into space, brings substantial expertise to the partnership. The company’s CEO, Pierre-Damien Vaujour, emphasized the importance of this collaboration in advancing the UAE’s space ambitions. He noted that Loft Orbital is excited to support the UAE’s vision of becoming a global space powerhouse.
The collaboration also includes partnerships with local technology providers and component manufacturers, ensuring that the UAE’s ecosystem is deeply integrated into the project. Orbitworks aims to bolster the UAE’s AI capabilities by offering a straightforward path for AI companies to deploy their applications into orbit.
This joint venture is poised to play a pivotal role in the UAE’s strategy to become a leader in the global space industry. The first satellite from this venture is anticipated to be launched as early as the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the rapid progress of this ambitious project.
About Mar-a-Lago
Mar-a-Lago, an estate in Palm Beach, Florida, has held historical and cultural significance in the United States. Originally constructed as a private residence, it was later converted into a private club. Its history, architectural design, and societal role make it an important site of interest.
Mar-a-Lago, meaning "Sea-to-Lake" in Spanish, was commissioned in 1924 by Marjorie Merriweather Post, the heiress of the Postum Cereal Company, later known as General Foods Corporation. Designed by architect Marion Sims Wyeth, the estate took four years to complete. It spans 17 acres between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth, featuring 126 rooms and a combination of Spanish, Venetian, and Moorish architectural styles. Ornate decorations, gold leaf ceilings, and imported European tiles contribute to its distinct design.
In 1973, Post willed Mar-a-Lago to the U.S. government for use as a winter retreat for presidents and visiting dignitaries. However, due to maintenance costs, the government returned the property to the Post Foundation in 1981. It was later purchased in 1985 and converted into a private club while maintaining a personal residence on the premises.
In 1995, Mar-a-Lago was established as a private club, offering amenities such as fine dining, a spa, and beachfront access. The club hosts events, charity gatherings, and social functions, making it a notable location in Palm Beach. Over the years, the estate has been frequented by public figures, business executives, and other prominent individuals, reinforcing its status as a distinguished venue.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar-a-Lago
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+ 1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com
