Payam Banazadeh

Payam Banazadeh is the Founder and CEO of Capella Space, a company Payam established in 2016, successfully raising over $280M in venture capital and leading the development of the first American commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) company, which has since become a global leader in commercial SAR imagery. In addition to their role at Capella, Banazadeh serves as an Advisor for Generational Partners and is a Member of the Aerospace Department External Advisory Committee at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Member of the NOAA Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing. Previously, Banazadeh held significant positions at the National Security Space Association and Stanford University, and specialized in mission formulation and systems engineering during tenures at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Texas at Austin. Banazadeh holds a Master’s Degree in Business & Management from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.