Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy is a seasoned veteran of the space and technology industries helping a variety of companies bring their sophisticated solutions to market. As an early employee at DigitalGlobe, now Maxar Technologies, he played a pivotal role in securing some of the largest government contracts in the industry, including Clearview and NextView. He was instrumental in building DigitalGlobe's commercial business unit, leading it through its successful IPO and forging the company's strategic partnerships with Google Earth and Google Maps.
McCarthy also started DigitalGlobe's Corporate Development practice, collaborating with an ex-Goldman Sachs partner to oversee multiple acquisitions, including the merger with the industry's largest competitor, GeoEye. He later spun off and founded a satellite data services (SaaS) business in the oil and gas sector, which was subsequently acquired by DigitalGlobe.
As a principal strategy lead at Amazon AWS, McCarthy helped create the company's space strategy and space Center of Excellence, a strategic focus organization that aligned Amazon's diverse space-related interests and initiatives. He has also leveraged his extensive operational and management experience to support a wide range of new space economy companies as an operating partner and go-to-market advisor, guiding them through start-up, scale-up, funding rounds, M&A, and IPO processes.
Recognized as a thought leader in the space and tech sectors, McCarthy has authored many of today's leading strategies on the global space economy, encompassing commercial players, government programs, solution partners, the investment community, and industry end-users. His technology expertise spans a broad range of space-adjacent domains, including AI/ML, geospatial analytics, digital marketplaces, digital twins, SaaS, and cloud infrastructure. Additionally, he has operational experience in connected industries such as environment, oil & gas, location-based services, telecom, GIS, defense, and government at the local, state, and federal levels.