People

Owen Hawkins

Chief Executive Officer

Owen has spent twenty years building the business of space. He helps organisations get real value from satellite services, and he solves commercial and technical problems along the way.

He started in satellite imagery at DMCii, then spent five years at Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL). There he worked with senior government customers around the world, from civil agencies to defence, the UN and NATO. He helped countries meet their national development aims with satellites that pay their way.

At Earth-i he was Operations Director, growing an operational satellite imagery business and bringing the Carbonite video satellites to market. Since 2017 he has led Earth-i's product development, creating end-to-end satellite services and geospatial analytics.

Owen is also a Director of Diesel Exhaust Solutions and the founder of SoapBox. He studied at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, and has commented on space for BBC Radio 4, BBC World News and New Scientist.

Richard Parkes

Chief Operating Officer

Richard is a deep expert in marketing. He spent more than a decade at leading London agencies, including McCann Erickson, OgilvyOne, Karmarama, Wunderman and Publicis Groupe.

He led work for brands such as Nestlé, Honda, British Airways, Nespresso, easyJet, Bupa and BT. His work covered brand launches, customer relationship marketing, membership programmes and digital campaigns, including British Airways' London 2012 Olympic sponsorship and the BT brand relaunch.

Since 2014 Richard has been a Board Director of Parkway Entertainment Company. He has guided Parkway through COVID-19 and back, launched a new website, memberships and events, and led the design and build of new multiplex cinemas in Workington and Beverley.