Since 2014, she has been the technical lead for several areas of focus within the GSMA such as 5G, IoT, automotive, aviation and more. Looking at how to best utilise new technologies and services from the constantly evolving mobile networks, like 5G-Advanced.

Barbara is also leading several activities and communities with the GSMA members, like the activities related to smart mobility, including automotive and advanced air mobility. The latter by leading the GSMA Drone Interest Group and the Aerial Connectivity Joint Activity, to investigate and help the mobile industry to create a trusted solution for commercial unmanned aircraft. Exploring features and capabilities of 4G and 5G needed for the aviation.

Barbara has over 20 years of experience in the mobile industry. Before joining the GSMA, Barbara worked in R&D in several areas of telecommunications. She also participates and actively contributed to, several standards.

Chris Kucera is Co-Founder and Head of Strategic Partnerships at OneSky.

Chris has more than 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry and 16 years history working with Analytical Graphics, Inc., an aerospace software company. He has had various roles at the company from systems engineer to account executive with focus on scheduling and communications systems.

In 2014, Chris co-founded OneSky as a subsidiary of Analytical Graphics, Inc. to focus on UTM solutions. Chris manages business relationships for OneSky and is responsible for customer outreach and industry engagement.

He is an ACJA Board Member and also works with various organizations, such as GUTMA, ASTM, ICAO, AUVSI, the Small UAV Coalition and more, to understand the state-of-the-art in drone technology and keep up to date on regulatory progress. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech. He is also a commercially rated multi-engine aircraft pilot.

Mr. Peter Musgrove is a Lead Member of Technical Staff at AT&T with 33 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He started his career with Bell Communications Research (Bellcore) in 1986 in Red Bank, NJ where he developed generic requirements and the associated standards for SS7-based services. In 1994, he joined McCaw Cellular in Kirkland, WA (which was later acquired by AT&T).

Peter has developed network standards for wireless and wireline telecom including regulatory standards supporting 911 emergency services and Next Gen 911, Real-Time Text, domestic and international lawful interception, Wireless Priority Service for Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) users, Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and other public safety initiatives in ATIS, TIA, and 3GPP. Peter has participated in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry activities in GSMA, 3GPP, ATIS, and ASTM. Peter holds a BS Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Virginia, and an MS Electrical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech.

Sebastian Babiarz recently joined DroneUp as Head of Airspace Innovation – Europe. At DroneUp, Sebastian advises and collaborates with European regulators and standards organizations as they work to build regional regulatory frameworks to enable safe and scalable drone operations. Previously, Sebastian was the COO of DroneHub, a drone-in-the-box company that builds automated hangars for drones to enable autonomous drone operations in Industrial areas. He was Head of Strategic Business Development at AirMap, successfully creating AirMap business across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. Prior to DroneHub and AirMap, Sebastian held various positions in mobile networks for Nokia, Ericsson, and Alcatel-Lucent. During this time, he focused on driving drone innovation within the mobile telecom industry and the role they play in a connected society and within the Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Sebastian is the co-founder, a board member, and the co-president of the Global Unmanned Traffic Management Association (GUTMA). And with more than 18 years of business experience in the drone and telecom industry, Sebastian is passionate about new technology and automation and how they can improve lives.

Thomas Eder is an experienced R&D and Business Leader who has contributed to the wireless networks telecommunications industry for over 15 years. As the head of Nokia’s Embedded Wireless Solutions organization, Thomas is responsible for introducing industrial and mission-critical private wireless 5G networks, as well as Nokia Drone Networks.

With a strong background in mobile communication infrastructure, software, hardware, and testing, Thomas has developed a unique set of skills that enable him to design and develop robust solutions that meet the needs of customers. His work with Nokia Drone Networks has been particularly noteworthy, providing advanced solutions for surveillance, maintenance, and inspection.

Thomas is a recognized leader in business and R&D, with expertise in mobile networks and robotics technology. As a Board Member of the GSMA ACJA, he combines his ecosystem and business management skills with his technological background to create innovative solutions for the mobile communication space.

In addition to his professional achievements, Thomas is also an active division leader of a voluntary fire station. In his free time, he enjoys exploring his interests in Formula 1 technology, running, and climbing.

Chris Kucera is Co-Founder and Head of Strategic Partnerships at OneSky.

Chris has more than 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry and 16 years history working with Analytical Graphics, Inc., an aerospace software company. He has had various roles at the company from systems engineer to account executive with focus on scheduling and communications systems.

In 2014, Chris co-founded OneSky as a subsidiary of Analytical Graphics, Inc. to focus on UTM solutions. Chris manages business relationships for OneSky and is responsible for customer outreach and industry engagement.

He is an ACJA Board Member and also works with various organizations, such as GUTMA, ASTM, ICAO, AUVSI, the Small UAV Coalition and more, to understand the state-of-the-art in drone technology and keep up to date on regulatory progress. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech. He is also a commercially rated multi-engine aircraft pilot.

Leila is the Chief Scientist for Wireless & Spectrum Evolution, Center for Integrated Transportation at MITRE. 

Before joining the consortium, Leila was MITRE’s Chief Engineer for the for the Aviation Concepts and Research division, which included oversight of Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Spectrum aspects related to civil aviation.  

Leila is an experienced wireless engineer with a history of solving complex technical problems both for industry and government environments. As part of her work with MITRE, Leila has led several activities focused on wireless communications, spectrum engineering, spectrum policy and spectrum management, involving multi-disciplinary concepts related to the design and optimization of wireless networks, satellite & aviation communications, uncrewed aircraft systems and autonomous systems technologies. Leila holds a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.  

Since 2014, she has been the technical lead for several areas of focus within the GSMA such as 5G, IoT, automotive, aviation and more. Looking at how to best utilise new technologies and services from the constantly evolving mobile networks, like 5G-Advanced.

Barbara is also leading several activities and communities with the GSMA members, like the activities related to smart mobility, including automotive and advanced air mobility. The latter by leading the GSMA Drone Interest Group and the Aerial Connectivity Joint Activity, to investigate and help the mobile industry to create a trusted solution for commercial unmanned aircraft. Exploring features and capabilities of 4G and 5G needed for the aviation.

Barbara has over 20 years of experience in the mobile industry. Before joining the GSMA, Barbara worked in R&D in several areas of telecommunications. She also participates and actively contributed to, several standards.

Boris is a Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of Flyvercity, an Israeli company building cellular services for urban drones.

Boris has twenty years of experience in aviation, as a software development and systems architect. He was involved in the development of a number of aviation systems, including GBAS stations, Aerodrome Weather Hazards and Wake Vortex monitoring systems, and IoT for aviation solutions. Boris also led several industrial standardization groups at EUROCAE and RTCA. His recent focus is on new 5G-based architectures for C2 and tactical deconfliction services for urban unmanned flights. Boris holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Moscow State University.

Stefano Faccin is Director of Technical Standards with Qualcomm Incorporated.

Stefano has been contributing to system architecture work for 3G, 4G and 5G systems since the beginning of the 3GPP program.
At present, Stefano is leading the 3GPP system work to leverage cellular networks features to create needed solutions for UAS operations, including UAS command/control links, tracking and identification, payload communications, and collision avoidance. This work is aimed at enabling UAS management through a UAS traffic management system (UTM) by leveraging large area coverage of cellular networks.

Stefano has over 25 years of experience in the mobile industry, working in every type of player in the industry. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Stefano worked in R&D and standards for a mobile operator, a major network vendor, and three mobile phone and chipset manufacturers. Stefano has long term experience in standards development in ETSI GSM, 3GPP, IETF, IEEE, and Wi-Fi Alliance.

Thomas Neubauer is VP of Business Development and Innovations at TEOCO.

He has about 20 years of experience in the management of wireless networks. Among other innovations, Thomas is a co-creator and inventor of AirborneRF, a software solution specialized for connecting cellular network operators with aviation (ATM/UTM/FIMS) systems.

On behalf of GSMA and GUTMA (Global UTM Association), Thomas is leading the “Interface for data exchange between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and UTM ecosystem” Work Group, focusing on global standardization of interfaces between cellular and unmanned aviation systems including 4G, 5G technologies.

He holds a Ph.D. in telecommunications engineering from the Vienna University of Technology.

Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, at Verizon since 2006.

Gerry Libunao is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Verizon Communications supporting Verizon’s Wireless Standardization participation in Industry Forums and Partnership Projects and a key part of Verizon’s Advanced Technology Strategy team. He is the primary GSMA North America contact for Verizon and a member of various GSMA Working Groups and Projects. Gerry is currently focused on the future evolution of LTE Network Architecture, and 5G for IP based services and applications across industry verticals. During his 30 years of Telecom Wireless Industry experience, Gerry was involved with a combination of Information Technology positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of Rating, Billing, Customer Care, Service Creation, and Delivery platforms. Prior to joining Verizon’s Network organization, Gerry was an IT Architect in the Verizon Wireless Data Solutions Group. Gerry has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Philippine Normal University.