Management Team

RaySat Antenna Systems™ is led by an experienced management team who have created and managed leading companies.

David Gross - CEO

David Gross has 40 years of experience creating and working with various high technology companies specializing in government programs. David Gross comes from a successful stint as the Founder, President and CEO at Cryptek, Inc. a private government-focused network security company. Before that, Mr. Gross co-founded DRS Inc. and served as its President for 25 years. DRS is a diversified defense electronics firm with annual revenues of approximately $3 Billion. Mr. Gross holds a BSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY and a MSEE from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.

Ilan Kaplan - President

Serving as President, Ilan Kaplan's background includes 19 years of diverse leadership experience in both technical and business positions. Formerly, as part of IBM, BCS, Wireless and Security Practice, Kaplan led the vision and solution development of a nation-wide wireless infrastructure implementation. Kaplan also served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Spacenet, where he led the business development group through the identification, development, and acquisition of strategic alliances. Prior to Spacenet, he led Gilat's Product Managment activities in North America, establishing Gilat’s position within the two-way paging space. Kaplan holds BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Daniel (Dan) F. DiFonzo - CTO

Chief Technical Officer Daniel (Dan) F. DiFonzo is a recognized satellite industry expert, with many career achievements, including pioneering developments in satellite multiple beam antenna and frequency reuse technology and development of a unique flat array antenna for direct broadcast satellite reception. DiFonzo’s vast satellite technology expertise encompasses more than 30 years. He headed his own satellite consulting company, Planar Communications Corp, for more than 14 years. At Comsat Laboratories he pioneered and managed many aspects of satellite antenna and communications technologies. He also served as vice president and general manager in Comsat’s Systems Division, which provided satellite systems and network engineering, Earth stations systems integration and satellite construction monitoring.

Thomas Smith – Vice President, Government Sales & Business Development

Serving as Vice President of Government Sales and Business Development, Tom is responsible for all revenue streams into the company. He is also the conduit by which various customer special requirements are addressed and solutions are implemented. Tom has over twenty years experience in Information Technology, mostly in the government sector. He has led sales organizations at Cryptek and Future Technologies after starting his career at GTE. Tom also manages the distribution relationships for RaySat Antenna Systems for resellers and system integrators. He has Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration and Finance from Mount St. Mary’s University.

Simona Gat- General Manager, Operation and Production

Mrs. Gat has experience of more than 30 years in production, operation and project management. Before joining Raysat, Mrs. Gat was working as special projects manager for the Israeli defense, for 14 years; after that she joined Gilat Satellite Networks LTD. for 16 year as manufacturing and logistics manager; she brings large experience in designing for manufacturability and working with subcontractors.