Richard Branson is Founder of the Virgin Group. Virgin is one of the world’s most irresistible brands and has expanded into many diverse sectors from travel to telecommunications, health to banking and music to leisure.

Having started Virgin as a mail order record retailer in 1970, Richard founded Virgin Records. After the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, released ‘Tubular Bells’, Virgin Records went on to sign household names from the Sex Pistols to The Rolling Stones. There are now more than 40 Virgin companies worldwide in over 35 countries.

As President and COO of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell is responsible for day-to-day operations and managing all customer and strategic relations to support company growth. She joined SpaceX in 2002 as Vice President of Bussiness Development and built the Falcon vehicle family manifest to more than 100 launches, representing more than $15 billion in business. Shotwell is a member of the SpaceX Board of Directors.

Prior to joining SpaceX, Shotwell spent more than 10 years at the Aerospace Corporation, holding positions in Space Systems Engineering, Technology and Project Management. She was promoted to the role of Chief Engineer of the MLV-class satellite program, managed a landmark study for the Federal Aviation Administration on commercial space transportation, and completed an extensive analysis of space policy for NASA’s future investment in space transportation.

In addition to being included on Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020, Shotwell was awarded the 2020 Von Karman Wings award. In 2018 Shotwell was named the Satellite Executive of the Year and she was awarded the AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award as well as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Ralph Coats Roe Medal. Fortune Magazine placed Shotwell at #42 on their list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in 2018 and Forbes named her #55 on their list of Power Women in 2019. Gwynne was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2020 and in 2019 was appointed to the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group. In 2014, Shotwell was appointed to the United States Export Import Bank’s Advisory Committee and the Federal Aviation Administration’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Through leadership in both corporate and external science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, Shotwell has helped raise over $1.8 million for STEM programs reaching thousands of students nationwide.

Shotwell received, with honors, her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics, and serves on their Board. She has authored dozens of papers on a variety of space related subjects.

In 2017, Melanie Stricklan combined her military experience and love of space to co-found Slingshot Aerospace, a company building world-class space data, simulation and analytics solutions. Under her leadership, the company launched a suite of products for commercial, civil and defense applications including Slingshot Beacon, the industry’s first space collision avoidance collaboration and communications platform. As CEO, Melanie leads Slingshot Aerospace on a mission to accelerate space sustainability and create a safer, more connected world.

During her Air Force career, she logged over 1500 flight hours onboard ground surveillance aircraft, commanded over 200 experimental spacecraft missions, and led the development of space control technologies for the Department of Defense. Her personal decorations include the Air Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Air Force Commendation Medal (four awards), Air Force Achievement Medal, and the John L. Levitow Award for outstanding leadership.

In addition to her role at Slingshot, Stricklan serves on two prestigious organizations guiding the future of safe space operations. Recognizing her leadership in the industry, Vice President Kamala Harris selected Stricklan to join the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg named her to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. As part of these committees, she provides information, advice, and recommendations about technology, business and policy issues regarding oversight of the U.S. commercial space transportation sector.

Stricklan led Slingshot Aerospace on an accelerated growth trajectory over the course of 2022, punctuated by two oversubscribed funding rounds totaling $65.45 million and two acquisitions: Numerica’s Space Domain Awareness division and UK-based Seradata. The acquisitions introduced an unparalleled Global Sensor Network, for day/night tracking of satellites and debris, and the industry’s most authoritative space object database, into Slingshot’s Digital Space Twin platform.

Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Science in Space Operations Management with an emphasis in Space Systems Engineering from Webster University. She was named the 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year for El Segundo, California, and named one of Inc. Magazines’ 2019 Top 100 Female Founders in the United States. Melanie was named a Techstars All-Star Mentor, a recognition from her peers within the prestigious aerospace accelerator for her gold standard of mentorship. A trailblazer in the industry, Melanie frequently speaks at conferences about the value of situational awareness and advancing space sustainability, and hosted a TED Talk discussing how images from space help us protect Earth. She is a champion for STEM initiatives and enjoys inspiring youth to challenge themselves and pursue their dreams.

Dave Limp joined Amazon in March 2010 and is currently SVP of Amazon Devices & Services. Dave oversees the development, retail sales, and operational aspects of Amazon’s consumer electronic devices and the services behind them—including Alexa, Echo, Kindle, Fire TV, Fire tablets, Ring, eero, Blink, Day 1 Editions, Amazon Key, and Amazon Appstore—as well as other initiatives such as Project Kuiper and Zoox.

Since the launch of Amazon’s first device, Kindle, Dave’s team has been focused on building devices that are deeply integrated with services, helping customers stay connected, informed, safe, and entertained through ambient computing technology.

Dave started his career at Apple, where he held various positions from 1987 to 1996, the last of which was Director of the North and South American PowerBook division. From 1997 to 2002, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Liberate Technologies. Following that, he served as Chief Strategy Officer of Palm, where he was responsible for corporate development, business development, and applications. Immediately prior to joining Amazon, Dave served as Venture Partner of Azure Capital Partners for four years.

Dave has B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and a M.S. degree in Management from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, mountain biking, and spending time with his wife and children.