Space-Eyes has named four executives and national security leaders expected to join its board of directors following the company’s proposed business combination with McKinley Acquisition Corp., adding experience across defense, intelligence, aerospace manufacturing, strategy and global capital markets as it prepares to become publicly traded.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel James “Jim” Reese, Wharton professor Harbir Singh, aerospace and defense entrepreneur Norm Christensen and investment banking executive Terry Meguid are expected to become directors of the combined company when the transaction closes.
Miami-based Space-Eyes provides AI-driven geospatial intelligence and counter-unmanned aerial systems. The planned board appointments are intended to strengthen governance and provide expertise relevant to the company’s expansion across defense, security, geospatial intelligence and space-based applications.
“As Space-Eyes enters its next stage of growth, we are assembling a board that reflects the breadth of capabilities required to build a leading defense and intelligence technology company,” said Capt. Jatin Bains, founder and CEO of Space-Eyes.
Reese brings 25 years of U.S. Army experience, including assignments with the 75th Ranger Regiment and the special mission unit commonly known as Delta Force. His military career included operations in the Balkans and Colombia and combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Reese served as lead adviser for Special Operations to the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and later advised on integrating Joint Special Operations Command capabilities during the Iraq campaign. After leaving the military, he held senior corporate security positions and founded global security and stability consultancy TigerSwan.
Space-Eyes expects Reese’s operational background to support development of its CATE AI platform and its work with defense, intelligence and critical-infrastructure customers.
Singh is the Mack Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, co-director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management and faculty director of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. His research has covered strategic leadership, innovation, alliances, acquisitions and sustainable competitive advantage.
His experience is expected to support Space-Eyes as it scales its common AI technology foundation, develops strategic partnerships and evaluates potential acquisitions.
Christensen brings experience in aerospace manufacturing and the defense industrial base. He previously owned AAE Aerospace, which manufactured advanced high-temperature composite structures and materials for missile, interceptor, hypersonic and space applications.
AAE produced heat shields, rocket motor nozzles, nose cones and filament-wound structures for mission-critical aerospace systems before being acquired by Karman Space & Defense in 2021. Space-Eyes expects Christensen to advise on production readiness, quality systems, customer qualification, supply chains and strategic partnerships as the company scales.
Meguid adds public-company, M&A and capital-markets experience. He was most recently a senior adviser to Perella Weinberg Partners, where he was a founding partner and co-head of the firm’s asset-management business.
Before co-founding Perella Weinberg, Meguid spent 25 years at Morgan Stanley, including serving as head of Worldwide Investment Banking and as a member of the firm’s Management Committee. His background includes capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity and international business development.
Space-Eyes expects that experience to support capital allocation, governance, acquisitions, strategic partnerships and international expansion following its transition to the public markets.
The board additions come as Space-Eyes moves toward completing its previously announced combination with Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company McKinley Acquisition Corp. The companies entered into a definitive business combination agreement on July 31, 2026.
The proposed transaction implies a pro forma equity value of $638 million and an enterprise value of $370 million, assuming no redemptions from McKinley’s trust account and receipt of the initial $5 million tranche of private investment in public equity financing.
McKinley has approximately $176.7 million in its trust account, while the parties have sourced up to $75 million in PIPE financing, subject to the transaction terms.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and other customary closing conditions. Following completion, the combined business is expected to retain the Space-Eyes name and list its common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker “CUAS,” subject to exchange approval.
Space-Eyes develops geospatial intelligence systems using analytics and multi-sensor integration for applications including maritime operations, disaster monitoring, defense and security. The company is investing in analytics, sensor fusion and space-layer infrastructure as it works to expand its intelligence technology across additional operational environments.