Meet Gwynne Shotwell, the woman who actually runs SpaceX for Elon Musk

• Gwynne Shotwell seems to be running the show at Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• She oversees most of the rocket company’s core activities, according to an organizational chart from The Information.
• Here’s everything we know about SpaceX’s president and COO.

SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell appears to be taking the lead against Elon Musk’s company.

While Musk is the CEO and public face of the aerospace company, Shotwell manages almost every team internally, according to an organizational chart reviewed by The Information.

Shotwell has 21 direct reports to Musk’s four and oversees most of SpaceX’s core activities, including the teams working on Starlink, Falcon and Starship.

A former SpaceX employee, Vincent Peters, told Business Insider that Shotwell “is the most important person at SpaceX outside of Elon.”

“It evolves employee morale and customer confidence in SpaceX and serves as an azimuth within the company as priorities evolve,” he added.

Shotwell was one of SpaceX’s first employees. Here’s everything we know about the powerful SpaceX president.

Early life

Shotwell was born in 1963 and raised in Illinois. She is the daughter of a brain surgeon and an artist and has two sisters, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

An A student in high school, she went on to earn a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics from Northwestern University.

She told the LA Times that she developed an interest in machines early on. This evolved into a career in the automotive field before moving into the aerospace industry.

One of SpaceX’s first employees

Shotwell was the 11th person hired by SpaceX.

She joined the company in 2002 as vice president of business development after a stint at spacecraft developer Microcosm.

Shotwell told the LA Times in 2013: “I knew early on that if these guys (at SpaceX) couldn’t make it in the space industry, no one would make it. If we hadn’t succeeded, I was ready to leave the aerospace industry altogether. and go sell some real estate or something. Fortunately, this did not happen.

During her 22 years at SpaceX, Shotwell rose through the ranks to become COO and president, making her one of the most important people.

The secret of SpaceX’s success

Shotwell has long been rumored to be pulling SpaceX’s strings.

For much of her tenure at the company, she oversaw its operations and sales while Elon Musk focused on developing the technology. Investors have praised the partnership between the two men and credit it with much of SpaceX’s success.

Peters, founder of Inheritance AI, told BI that Shotwell was the “cornerstone of consistency and continuity at SpaceX” amid Elon’s “involvement in his entities outside of SpaceX.”

He said Shotwell’s leadership style fell “between transformational leadership and democratic leadership,” adding that she was extremely approachable to all employees.

SpaceX has approximately 13,000 employees in California, Texas and Florida.

The COO has 21 direct reports, while Elon Musk only has four. Shotwell also oversees most of SpaceX’s core activities, including the teams working on Starlink, Falcon and Starship.

According to Forbes, Shotwell has an estimated stake in SpaceX of less than 1%.

It seems she likes to get her hands dirty sometimes:

Relationship with Elon Musk

Shotwell said she enjoyed working for Musk and had previously praised the billionaire’s management style.

“I love working for Elon,” she said in a 2018 TED talk.

“He’s funny and basically, without him saying anything, he pushes you to do your best. He doesn’t have to say a word. You just want to do a good job,” he said. she declared to the audience.

Shotwell has come to Musk’s defense on numerous occasions, most recently following allegations regarding his conduct with female SpaceX workers.

In response to some of the claims in a Wall Street Journal article, she said, “I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people accomplish every day, even in the midst of all the forces working against us.” And Elon is one of the best humans I know.”

Shotwell was also mentioned in the Journal report after an employee claimed the COO accused her of having an affair with her husband.

SpaceX representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.