Management Team

Brian E. O’Toole is chief executive officer of BlackSky and is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of the company’s business plan as well as product and technology strategy for BlackSky’s global monitoring service. He joined the company in 2016 when BlackSky acquired OpenWhere, a technology company he founded, which delivered on-demand location intelligence solutions to government and commercial customers.

Brian brings more than 30 years of executive experience building and growing high-performance technology businesses at startup, growth, and Fortune 100 companies. Prior to OpenWhere, he served as chief technology officer at GeoEye, with global responsibility for developing, managing, and expanding the company’s technology, products, and services in geospatial intelligence and location-based services. He left GeoEye after a successful $1.3 billion merger with DigitalGlobe. He’s also held senior product leadership roles at a number of companies, including Overwatch Textron Systems, which he joined when they acquired ITspatial, an early pioneer of interactive 3D mapping that he co-founded and served as president. Brian holds a Master of Science Degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from Clarkson University.

Henry Dubois was appointed Chief Financial Officer at BlackSky in 2022 and is responsible for the financial operations of the company including corporate finance, accounting, investor relations, compliance and corporate development. He has extensive domestic and international experience leading telecom and satellite imaging companies through periods of significant growth.

Henry joined BlackSky as Chief Development Officer in 2021 to lead the company’s growth and corporate development initiatives after having served as an advisor to the company’s board since September 2018.  Henry brings proven experience in growth strategies, deal sourcing, and integration, as well as extensive domestic and international experience leading telecom and satellite imaging companies through periods of growth and M&A activity.

Henry served as Chief Financial Officer and an executive advisor at GeoEye and as President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at DigitalGlobe. He has also held several other executive positions, including President and Chief Executive Officer of a healthcare company, and Chief Executive Officer of an Asia-based telecom company. Henry was also a Managing Director at HED Consulting where he advised companies on strategic initiatives, operating improvements, and financial activities.

Henry received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Management degree in finance, marketing, and accounting from Northwestern University.

Chris Lin is General Counsel and Chief Administration Officer at BlackSky and brings nearly two decades of strategic leadership and legal experience working with business, government and legal teams during high growth and innovation cycles. Chris oversees legal and regulatory compliance, contracts and people operations. Her responsibilities also include all administrative and facility operations as well as satellite supply chain and production.

Prior to joining BlackSky in 2021, Chris was at NexGen Venture Partners where she helped companies restructure legacy business lines to increase profitability and build the foundation for accelerating growth of emerging business lines.  Chris was General Counsel, Chief Privacy, and Administrative Officer for Rakuten Advertising and also played a pivotal role in the partner-only “virtual” law firm, Outside GC, LLC, comprised of senior business attorneys assisting tech companies to accelerate growth in a complex, evolving regulatory landscape.

Chris was Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Secretary at media measurement and analytics company Comscore, where during her 17-year tenure she helped grow the company from an early-stage startup to a multibillion-dollar public market capitalization company with teams across Europe, the Asia Pacific, and the Americas.

Chris received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Yale University and earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree at Georgetown University Law Center.

Nick Merski is Chief Operations Officer at BlackSky, where he currently leads the global program management and controls as well as the expansion of customer relationships. Nick also oversees the execution of strategic internal programs, including the Gen-3 constellation. Over the last decade Nick has played a pivotal role in overseeing the entire end-to-end satellite strategy, development, launch, and on-orbit operations of the BlackSky’s constellation.

Prior to joining BlackSky in 2015, Nick served in the U.S. Air Force as an officer and civil servant. He held multiple program management and system engineering leadership roles for the Air Force’s operational and advanced technology programs, including the Operationally Responsive Space-1 and Department of Defense Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle programs.

Nick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Science degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.

Patrick O’Neil brings extensive academic and geospatial intelligence experience to his role as chief technology officer. Patrick is responsible for building and executing the BlackSky analytics corporate strategy, including the advancement of the company’s real-time monitoring platform leveraging industry-leading technologies in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Patrick is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics. He went on to earn both his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Mathematics at George Mason University. During an internship at OpenWhere, which was acquired by BlackSky, Patrick developed the core algorithms that would lead to foundational work in AI/ML and predictive analytics for the company.

Patrick is on the faculty at George Mason and works closely with the school’s Geography and Geospatial Sciences Department. He serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board and the diversity team for the College of Science. He also serves on the Virginia Department of Education’s Data Science Advisory Board, guiding mathematics curricula for state high schools.

Kevin Rioles is the Chief Information Officer of BlackSky and oversees the management and implementation of security and information technology systems across the company. Kevin also leads the development teams responsible for platform architecture, ground systems and flight software.

Kevin joined BlackSky in 2015 and brings decades of leadership skills in systems engineering, integration, product infrastructure and program management. Prior to BlackSky, Kevin was the Director of Systems Engineering at Thermopylae Sciences and Technology. He also served as Deputy Division Manager at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

Kevin served as the deputy program manager and systems engineer with United States Forces Korea Directorate of Intelligence. Kevin began his career in the United States Air Force, serving seven years as a computer programmer with the 1912th Communications Support Group, Air Combat Command Communications Support Squadron.

Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in information systems at Excelsior College and a Master of Science degree in information systems at Strayer University.