John LaBELLE
John LaBelle serves as Chief Growth Officer at Mesodyne, where he leads business development, manufacturing scale-up and strategic revenue execution.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, he served for five years as a U.S. Army Infantry Officer with the 101st Airborne Division and led tactical units in Iraq and Syria.
Before joining Mesodyne, he worked as an Investment Banking Associate at Moelis & Company, advising on mergers and acquisitions, carve-outs and capital raises.
He also holds an M.B.A. from New York University's Stern School of Business.
Panel IV · From Peaks to Partnerships
The contribution examines how NATO DIANA and Palladion connect dual-use technologies with mountain-warfare requirements, military end users and representative test environments.
Mesodyne's LightCell provides the practical case: a silent, lightweight thermophotovoltaic generator designed to convert multiple fuels — including JP-8, diesel, gasoline, propane and hydrogen — into electricity without moving parts.
The presentation examines how this type of technology could reduce the battery and resupply burden of dispersed mountain forces while supporting UAS, sensors and communications in austere and extreme operational conditions.
It also considers how end-user engagement, experimentation and interoperability requirements can help translate a commercial technology into a validated operational capability.