Born in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, Gwynne Shotwell was the daughter of a brain surgeon and an artist. This perfect union of due diligence and creativity paved the way for the academically gifted Gwynne to excel throughout school and eventually oversee 10,000 employees in a future-minded private company worth $74 billion.
Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002, the year of its inception. SpaceX founder Elon Musk offered her a job early on after meeting her through a mutual colleague. After deliberating whether or not transitioning to a position at a risky startup would make sense for her career long-term, she asked herself a simple question: “Do I want [aerospace] to continue the way it is, or do I want it to go in the direction Elon wants to take it?” In the end, she welcomed the challenges of jumping into a new and radical company, and accepted a position at SpaceX that Musk developed with her in mind. She was the company’s eleventh employee.
Nearly 20 years later, Shotwell leads SpaceX through the day-to-day operations unique to a company focused on collaborations with NASA and establishing a sustainable colony on Mars. Whereas Musk has made a name for himself as an enthusiastic yet often off-putting genius, Shotwell helps make the connections the company needs to fulfill its mission.
Shotwell has also made a name for herself thinking beyond the grand scope of SpaceX by raising almost $1.5 million for STEM education programs. Her work earned her a spot in the Woman in Technology International Hall of Fame in 2012. She made Forbes’ America’s Top 50 Women in Tech list in 2018. In 2020, Shotwell received a number of accolades, being included in Times’ 100 Most Influential People and named the Satellite Executive of the Year, as well as being elected to the National Academy of Engineering. As current President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, she has not only made a lasting name for herself, but has given hope to generations of young minds dreaming of one day making their own mark on the stratosphere.