She’s just been named president of SpaceX. Interestingly, they didn’t have a president before (and the page hasn’t been updated yet). Well, they do now.
I think that she’ll do a good job. When I first met her, years ago, she was Gwynne Gurevich, and an engineer at Microcosm. She’s come a long way. And with all due respect to the competition, she’s got to be the hottest space company president ever. She may have to wear her skirts a little lower now, though.
Certainly MUCH better looking than John Carmack.
I’m sure John would be very relieved to know you feel that way… đ
~Jon
Yeah, she’s got Dave Masten and Jeff Greason beat, too. But that’s damning her with faint praise.
Any relation to the Gurevitch of MiG fame? (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan)
Not that I know of — you’d have to ask her.
Debbie LaPore of AirLaunch is more competition,
of course, the real question for Gwynne is can she
manage Mr Musk.
It seems that Musk is remaining as CEO and CTO,
so while she may be running operations, she will be dealing
with Elon selecting bolts and writing code.
On a related note I just received this email:
Falcon 9 First Stage Flight Tank Arrives at Cape Canaveral
——————————————————————————–
SpaceX Fulfills Commitment to Deliver Falcon 9 Hardware to Cape by Year-End in Preparation for 2009 Maiden Flight
Hawthorne, CA â December 18, 2008 â Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) announces the arrival of the Falcon 9 first stage flight tank at SpaceX’s newest launch site, Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Arriving as scheduled, delivery of the Falcon 9 first stage fulfills SpaceX’s commitment to having Falcon 9 hardware at the Cape by year-end.
…
She seems to have managed Mr. Musk well enough to have gotten promoted to company president…
it’s one thing to be head of Biz Dev while Elon runs around
as the CEO and CTO.
now she’s really COO and going to have to deal with the CEO
who thinks he’s also CTO and writing most of the checks.
i thought it’s interesting the F9 is going to the cape in pieces.
usually these are integrated in the factory and barged in one piece.
Umm, I wouldn’t call Debra Facktor Lepore, “Debbie” to her face. I don’t…
Umm, I wouldnât call Debra Facktor Lepore, âDebbieâ to her face. I donâtâŚ
Nor would I (and as a fellow southeastern Michiganian, I like her a lot). And she’s the only credible competition in this particular contest. Not that this particular contest is of any value whatsoever. Gwynne’s (and Debra’s) space achievements will stand completely on their own, independently of their pulchritude.
Umm, I wouldnât call Debra Facktor Lepore, âDebbieâ to her face. I donâtâŚ
I should add, that this just further confirms the troll “jack lee’s” idiocy…
She never said anything when we had a drink
in colorado springs.
I’ll ask her next time
I agree with Rand that she’s the ‘hottest.’ And I had this little exchange with her after the announcement:
From: Charles Lurio
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
I suppose this means that you will now spend your days lounging out at the pool that is so cunningly hidden behind the machine shop….
đ
From: Gwynne Shotwell
Date:December 18, 2008
That is exactly what it means đ
I am delighted for Gwynne. She was very responsive and curteous to me when I communicated with her in the early days of SpaceX.
Hi Gwynne,
Congrats!! I’ve always known that you’d do great things, and this certainly proves it. On this 10th anniversary of the launch of ARGOS, I send congrats from the gang at The Aerospace Corporation too (I’m retired now).
Congratulations Gwynne. Sorry it took so long to make this entry. They could not have chosen a more deserving professional. I enjoyed your discussion on the Space Show with Dr. David Livingston in the past.