Geolocation Pioneers

Gary Parsons, the Chairman of NextNav, spent over 45 years in the telecom industry and is noted for the founding or early stage development of a number of innovative telecom companies, including XM Satellite Radio, SkyTerra, TerreStar Networks, Telecom*USA and MCImetro.  He served as the founding CEO and then Executive Chairman of XM Satellite Radio from 1997 through its merger with Sirius in July 2008, and continued as Chairman of the combined Sirius XM Radio until 2010.

Gary was a pioneer in the deployment of fiber optic networks in the 80s and 90s and hybrid satellite-terrestrial technologies (such as XM Radio, SkyTerra and TerraStar) during the 2000s. In addition to NextNav, Mr Parsons also serves on the Board of Directors of Omnispace LLC, Siden Inc, Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd, and is Executive Chairman of Torad Engineering, LLC. He holds a Bachelors in Electrical and Computer Science from Clemson University, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina, and is Co-Chairman of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Mr. Parsons was inducted into the US Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2002.

Mariam Sorond is NextNav’s Chief Executive Officer, bringing extensive spectrum expertise and a proven track record of success to further NextNav’s leadership with 3D geolocation and GPS resiliency. For more than 28 years, she has led transformational change across mobile, wireless, fixed, and satellite networks, and held leadership positions within start-ups and large companies.

Most recently, she served as the Chief Technology Officer at VMware as CTO of the Service Provider and Edge business unit to help define and evangelize the technical strategy internally and externally as well as lead engagements with service provider partners to influence and promote vision, product and solution alignment and adoption towards the digital transformation. Mariam has also served as the Chief Research and Development Officer at CableLabs, and the Chief Wireless Architect of DISH. Earlier in her career, she worked for vendors such as Lucent Technologies (now Nokia), and several operators including ICO, Nextel, and PrimeCo, where she began as an RF Engineer.

Peter Aquino is currently the Chairman & CEO of Spartacus Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: TMTS). Spartacus announced a combination with a next generation GPS leader, NextNav LLC. He is a 30+ year veteran of the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications industry, starting his career at AT&T / Verizon in 1983. Mr. Aquino has a track record of successfully guiding companies through M&A, major expansion efforts, turnarounds, and strategic partnerships. He has run 4 public companies thus far, including Spartacus AC, and served in leading roles as: Chairman & CEO of Internap Corporation between 2016 and 2020, a North America retail data center company; Chairman and CEO of Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc. from 2010 until 2013, a global telecommunications company providing voice, high-capacity data, and data center services to enterprises; and President and CEO of RCN Corporation from 2004 until 2010, a competitive cable MSO and Metro Fiber company primarily in the Northeast US. Mr. Aquino is also the founder of Broad Valley Capital, LLC since 2014, where he advises firms focused on TMT, and also provides capital to for start-up broadband companies. Mr. Aquino served on several public boards including more recently; Lumos Networks, FairPoint Communications, Alaska Telecom, and TiVo, Inc. He is currently on the board of Spartacus Acquisition Corp. Mr. Aquino earned a B.A. from Montclair State University, New Jersey; and an M.B.A. from George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Bandel L. Carano is a Managing Partner at Oak Investment Partners, which he joined in 1985 and became a General Partner in 1987. Bandel is currently on the Boards of Airspan Networks, Centric Software, MobiTV, Mojix, NeoPhotonics, NextNav, nLight, and SmartDrive. Bandel has also led investments in and/or served on the Boards of 2Wire, Avici, CoreTek, Endwave, Fiber Tower, Good Technology, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Netopia, Phononic Devices, Picture Tel, Polycom, Presidio, Protean Electric, Qtera, Sentient Networks, Solarflare Communications, Tegic, Trapeze Networks, Wellfleet, Entropic, Illustra/Informix, Sybase, Tele Atlas, Actel, Airgo Networks, CommQuest, Kenet, Level 5, NanoH2O, NemeriX, Newport Media, Resonext, SMIC, Synaptics, Virata, Interconnectix, Parametric, Synopsys, Tensilica, Wavestream, and Zayo.

Bandel received BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He currently serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the Stanford Engineering Venture Fund.

Alan Howe has served as a co-founder and the Managing Partner of Broadband Initiatives, LLC, a boutique corporate advisory and strategic consulting firm, since 2001. Previously, he held various executive management positions at Covad Communications, Teletrac, Inc., Sprint and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. Mr. Howe is an experienced public company director. He currently serves on the boards of Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE: BW), Resonant (NASDAQ:  RESN), Sonim Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SONM), and Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: OESX).  Mr. Howe was previously a director of Spartacus Acquisition Corporation.

Mr. Howe received a Masters of Business Administration from the Kelley Business School at Indiana University and a Bachelors of Science – Business Administration and Marketing from the Gies School of Business at the University of Illinois. Mr. Howe was selected to serve on our board of directors because of operational, corporate finance, business development and leadership experience as well as his in depth strategic knowledge of the wireless, location technology, telecommunications, and software industries.

John Muleta is currently CEO of ATELUM LLC, a technology transfer firm specializing in mobile and Internet services, and the Managing Member of SNR Wireless. He was previously partner and co-chair of the Communications Practice at the law firm of Venable LLP. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Muleta served as chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, where he was responsible for developing and implementing spectrum policy, managing the FCC’s auction and licensing processes, and implementing the Agency’s wireless E911 mandate. Additionally, he served as Deputy Bureau Chief of the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau from 1994 to 1998.

Mr. Muleta also has a distinguished private sector record as an entrepreneur and business executive. He served as founder, director and CEO of M2Z Networks and as Chairman and CEO of Tellus Technology. In addition, he was a senior officer of two publicly traded companies, Navisite, Inc. (NASDAQ: NAVI) and PSINet, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSIX,). In those roles, he was responsible for international expansion and new business initiatives. During his career, Mr. Muleta has served on the boards of Fibertower, HRsmart, and Folio Investing, and on the advisory boards of Good Technology, Cognio, and Packethop. Mr. Muleta holds an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering and an MBA/JD from the University of Virginia and was a founding alumni Trustee of UVA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Access (IDEA) Fund and served as chair for two years.

Neil currently serves as Chief Investment Officer for MILFAM, a single-family office.

Throughout his career, Neil has served as a director and major shareholder for a number of telecommunications companies through various cycles of their growth and development. His efforts include advising companies on the appropriate approach to support the growth and development of their spectrum assets via effective financial and operating plans. He has also been integral in providing substantial transaction support for spectrum assets tied to several of the major telecommunications companies which has resulted in significant value creation for these businesses.

Neil also has extensive experience as investor, including roles as Managing Director of the investment advisor to Aspen Advisors and as Chairman of Broadbill Partners.

Neil currently serves on the boards of Alimco Financial Corp, Centrus Energy Corp, Frontiersman Holdings, Inc., and Quantlab Financial LLC. Prior board memberships include Phazr Inc., Federal-Mogul Corporation, Fibertower Corp, First Avenue Networks, Inc., WCS Wireless LLC, 360networks (USA), Inc., Primus Telecommunications Group, Institutional Financial Markets, Inc., and Komag, Inc.