Gwynne Shotwell

Gwynne Shotwell has taken on an even larger role at SpaceX since the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, bought Twitter in 2022 and directed much of his attention to the platform now known as X. President and COO since 2008, Shotwell has reportedly assumed control of the company’s Starship program and Starbase facilities. In April, SpaceX launched its Starship rocket, the most powerful to date. The ship exploded four minutes into its flight, but the company and NASA leadership deemed the launch successful because of vital data SpaceX gathered from the test. SpaceX’s valuation hit $150 billion in July, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world. Headwinds for Shotwell include fighting claims the company has a toxic culture and discriminatory hiring practices, which the company has denied.