Our Team

Mr. Beck is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Lab. Since founding the company in 2006, Mr. Beck has grown it into a global organization that develops and launches advanced rockets, satellites and spacecraft. Mr. Beck has served on Rocket Lab's board of directors, and as its President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2013 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in May 2021. 

From 2013, Mr. Beck led the development of the Electron launch vehicle, which was designed from the ground up to accommodate a high launch rate business model to meet the needs of customers for small launch services. Under Mr. Beck’s leadership, Rocket Lab pioneered advanced aerospace manufacturing techniques for Electron, including 3D printed rocket engines, electric-pump-fed rocket engines and fully carbon composite fuel tanks. Mr. Beck also led the development of our private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, located in Mahia, New Zealand, which required the establishment of an international treaty and legislation to enable Rocket Lab to use U.S. launch and spacecraft technology that otherwise would not be permitted for launches from foreign soil.

Prior to founding Rocket Lab, Mr. Beck began his career in 1993 with an apprenticeship as precision engineer at global appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel, before moving into production machinery design, product design and analysis. He later went to a government research institute in 2003 where he focused on advanced composites structures and materials for high performance applications. While at the government lab, Mr. Beck led several complex engineering programs to optimize technologies including wind turbines and superconductors. In his own time, Mr. Beck began building rockets at an early age, steadily increasing their size and complexity. In 2006, Mr. Beck founded Rocket Lab and led its efforts to successfully launch Atea-1 in 2009, which we believe is the first commercially-developed rocket to reach space from the Southern Hemisphere.

An award-winning engineer, Mr. Beck has been presented with the Gold Medal from the Royal Aeronautical Society, Meritorious Medal from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Cooper Medal and Pickering Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In addition, in recognition of Mr. Beck’s outstanding contributions to aerospace, entrepreneurship and technical innovation he was appointed as an adjunct professor in aerospace engineering by the University of Auckland. 

Dr. Strohband has served as a member of Rocket Lab's board of directors since August 2013. Since May 2018, Dr. Strohband has served as Managing Director at venture capital firm Khosla Ventures and has served as a partner and CTO at Khosla Ventures since November 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Strohband served as a partner, and later CTO, of Mohr Davidow Ventures, a venture capital and private equity company,
where he led technical diligence for the infrastructure IT and sustainability practices. From 2005 to 2006, Dr. Strohband was the lead engineer of the Stanford racing team autonomous car, “Stanley,” which became the foundation for the Google self-driving car project and also won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Strohband was a project manager for the Electronics Research Lab of auto-maker Volkswagen,
where he led technical projects for Volkswagen brands. Dr. Strohband has a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a PhD in Mechanics and Computation from Stanford University. Dr. Strohband brings extensive experience in the venture capital industry, as an engineer, and as a director of numerous private technology companies.

Mr. Cowan has served as a member of Rocket Lab's board of directors since December 2015. Mr. Cowan has served as an investment professional at Bessemer Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, since 1992 and has been a partner since 1996. He also served as a director of LifeLock, an identity theft protection services company, from 2006 through 2017. Mr. Cowan has degrees in Computer Science and Math from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  Mr. Cowan brings to the team extensive experience in the venture capital industry and operating and management experience with technology companies.

Mr. Ocko has served as a member of Rocket Lab's board of directors since January 2017. Since 2010, Mr. Ocko has served as the Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of venture capital fund DCVC. Prior to co-founding DCVC, Mr. Ocko was an investor at numerous firms, including VantagePoint Ventures, LLC, SOFTBANK Technology Ventures Corp (aka Mobius Venture Capital), Sevin Rosen Funds and Helix Investments. From 1984 – 1991, Mr. Ocko served as a member of the board of directors (in his capacity as co-founder) and Vice President of Research and Development of Da Vinci Systems, an e-mail software vendor. Mr. Ocko has a degree in Physics from Yale University. Mr. Ocko brings extensive experience in the venture capital industry, advising technology companies as both a director and executive.

Dr. Griffin has served as a member of Rocket Lab's board of directors since July 2020. Since July 2020, Dr. Griffin co-founded and has served as the Co-President of LogiQ Inc, a business consulting practice in the aerospace, defense and national security sector. From February 2018 until July 2020, Dr. Griffin worked in the Pentagon for the U.S. Department of Defense as the Under Secretary of Defense, Research & Engineering, where he was responsible for all U.S. Defense Department research and development. From August 2012 until May 2017, Dr. Griffin served as Chairman & CEO of the Schafer Corporation, a professional services provider in the national security sector. From April 2005 to January 2008, Dr. Griffin served as the 11th Administrator of NASA. Dr. Griffin has a BA in Physics and an MS degree in Applied Physics from Johns Hopkins University, an MSE in Aerospace Science from the Catholic University of America, a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, an MBA from Loyola College of Maryland, and an MS degree in Civil Engineering from George Washington University. Dr. Griffin brings extensive experience as a scientist, engineer and administrator in the aerospace field to the Rocket Lab team.

Merline Saintil was appointed to the board of Rocket Lab in 2021. With more than 20 years of experience as a technology leader and business executive, Ms. Saintil is widely respected for building global award-winning products in iconic Fortune 500 and privately held companies, including Intuit, Yahoo!, PayPal, Adobe, Joyent, and Sun Microsystems. 

Ms. Saintil was named one of the Women of Influence in 2017 by Silicon Valley Business Journal, one of the 22 Most Powerful Women Engineers in the World by Business Insider, and has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Girls in Tech.   

Ms. Saintil holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Florida A&M University and earned a M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University.

Jon A. Olson was appointed to the board of Rocket Lab in 2021. With more than 40 years of semiconductor industry experience, Mr. Olson has provided strategic insight and financial decision making at Intel Corporation for over two decades, and later as CFO at Xilinx from 2005 through to his retirement in 2016.  

Mr. Olson serves on the Board of Directors of Xilinx, Inc and Kulicke and Soffa, Inc. He also serves as a Member of the Deans Advisory Council at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, where he was inducted into the Academy of Alumni Fellows.  

Mr. Olson earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Indiana University and his MBA from Santa Clara University. 

Mr. Slusky has served as a member of Rocket Lab's board of directors since 2021. Since its inception in 1997, Mr. Slusky has served as Director, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Vector Capital. Mr. Slusky also serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Vector II, Vector III and Vector IV. He has also served as a director of Cambium Networks Corp., a wireless technology company, since March 2020 and served as a director of Technicolor SA, a manufacturer of digital media solutions, from July 2013 until 2016. From 1995 until 1997, Mr. Slusky led the technology equity practice at Ziff Brothers Investments, managing a portfolio of public and private technology investments which later became Vector Capital I. From 1992 until 1995, Mr. Slusky held various roles, most recently as a partner, at New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm where he focused on venture investments in software, communications, and digital media. Mr. Slusky has a degree in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Beck is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Lab. Since founding the company in 2006, Mr. Beck has grown it into a global organization that develops and launches advanced rockets, satellites and spacecraft. Mr. Beck has served on Rocket Lab's board of directors, and as its President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2013 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in May 2021. 

From 2013, Mr. Beck led the development of the Electron launch vehicle, which was designed from the ground up to accommodate a high launch rate business model to meet the needs of customers for small launch services. Under Mr. Beck’s leadership, Rocket Lab pioneered advanced aerospace manufacturing techniques for Electron, including 3D printed rocket engines, electric-pump-fed rocket engines and fully carbon composite fuel tanks. Mr. Beck also led the development of our private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, located in Mahia, New Zealand, which required the establishment of an international treaty and legislation to enable Rocket Lab to use U.S. launch and spacecraft technology that otherwise would not be permitted for launches from foreign soil.

Prior to founding Rocket Lab, Mr. Beck began his career in 1993 with an apprenticeship as precision engineer at global appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel, before moving into production machinery design, product design and analysis. He later went to a government research institute in 2003 where he focused on advanced composites structures and materials for high performance applications. While at the government lab, Mr. Beck led several complex engineering programs to optimize technologies including wind turbines and superconductors. In his own time, Mr. Beck began building rockets at an early age, steadily increasing their size and complexity. In 2006, Mr. Beck founded Rocket Lab and led its efforts to successfully launch Atea-1 in 2009, which we believe is the first commercially-developed rocket to reach space from the Southern Hemisphere.

An award-winning engineer, Mr. Beck has been presented with the Gold Medal from the Royal Aeronautical Society, Meritorious Medal from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Cooper Medal and Pickering Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In addition, in recognition of Mr. Beck’s outstanding contributions to aerospace, entrepreneurship and technical innovation he was appointed as an adjunct professor in aerospace engineering by the University of Auckland. 

Mr. Spice has served as Rocket Lab’s Chief Financial Officer since May 2018, and has served as the Secretary and Treasurer since May 2021. From January 2011 until May 2018, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at MaxLinear, Inc., a provider of radio frequency, analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for the connected home, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multimarket applications. From October 2009 to November 2010, Mr. Spice was the Chief Financial Officer of Symwave Corporation, a venture backed fabless semiconductor company until its sale to Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC). From July 2000 until September 2009, Mr. Spice held a variety of financial and operational executive roles at Broadcom Corporation, a creator of semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. From June 1996 until July 2000, Mr. Spice worked as a finance manager for Intel, a microchips manufacturer. Mr. Spice has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Brigham Young university and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Shaun O’Donnell is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Rocket Lab globally and manages a large number of cross-functional teams. He has been with the company for more than a decade leading the development of a number of complex space systems.   

Previously, Shaun was the head of the Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) division at Rocket Lab, and had broad responsibility over all electronic and software systems on board Electron. Shaun has been involved with Rocket Lab since 2007, where he was solely responsible for all avionics and software systems, including the Atea 1, Instant Eyes and VLM projects.

Shaun holds an Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree from the University of Auckland. 

Arjun Kampani is Rocket Lab's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, leading the Company's legal and regulatory affairs and guiding on all legal, governance, ethics, and compliance matters. 

Mr Kampani has over two decades of experience advising and leading public and private businesses, including more than 18 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Mr Kampani joined Rocket Lab from Aerojet Rocketdyne where he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, managing and advising on a broad range of issues including all aspects of corporate law, corporate governance, securities law, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, international transactions, and legal, ethics, and compliance issues. Prior to Aerojet Rocketdyne, Mr Kampani spent 10 years at General Dynamics Corporation where he was its top mergers and acquisitions lawyer, completing 30+ acquisitions and divestitures, before going on to serve as Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary for General Dynamics Land Systems, a $4 billion international business.

Mr Kampani began his career in New York at an AM Law 100 firm, and his educational background includes a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan. He is also a member of the New York State Bar and California Bar.

Lars Hoffman is Rocket Lab’s Senior Vice President of Global Launch Services. In this role, he leads the business development and customer experience strategy for the Electron program. With more than 30 years of experience in national security and aerospace, Lars has deep knowledge of the launch industry and the ever-evolving needs of satellite owners and operators.

Prior to joining Rocket Lab, Lars was the Senior Director of Government Sales at SpaceX, where he was responsible for National Security Space (NSS) strategy and business development.

Lars also led a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, including roles at the Pentagon. He holds advanced engineering degrees from the United States Air Force Academy, the Air Force Institute of Technology and the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. He also earned national security degrees from MIT, Air University and National Defense University and an M.B.A. from UCLA.

Shane Fleming leads the Commercial Launch Services team based at Rocket Lab's headquarters in Huntington Beach, California. Previously, Shane managed the operations at Rocket Lab's Auckland, New Zealand facility, as well as Launch Complex 1. With a decade of experience developing and commercializing innovative and disruptive technologies, Shane is accustomed to leading diverse teams and navigating complex international projects.

Prior to Rocket Lab, Shane spent seven years at biotechnology firm LanzaTech, leading the Global Engineering Operations and managing teams of engineers, scientists, and technicians at five production facilities in four countries across China, Taiwan, Japan, and the US. Shane has a background in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Lachlan Matchett is responsible for all propulsion activities at Rocket Lab. This includes all orbital propulsion systems including the Rutherford sea level and vacuum engines. Lachlan was responsible for the initial design of the Rutherford engine and has managed the development of the engine from concept through flight qualification and production.

Lachlan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. 

Mike is the Chief People and Culture Officer at Rocket Lab, with extensive experience spanning across the aerospace sector, consumer electronics, biotech, and the US federal government. Prior to joining Rocket Lab, Mike was the Chief Revenue Officer at WaveOptics, a Snap company, and previously held positions including: the Chief People and Operations Officer at DAQRI, the Deputy Chief of Staff in the United States Congress, and several key leadership positions at SpaceX. Mike has also held senior leadership roles across various departments including sales, marketing, human resources, government affairs, and corporate operations during his time at Eli Lilly.

At Rocket Lab, Mike oversees all people and growth related functions globally as the company scales both in headcount and across multiple product lines and technical disciplines.  Mike has a Bachelors degree from Wabash College in political science, graduate degrees from the London School of Economics in Public Policy and Economics, an MBA from Indiana University, along with a Masters in Global Management from the Thunderbird School at Arizona State University.

John Cuseo leads our Colorado-based team in delivering mission proven space software, mission simulation and test systems, and Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) solutions. John led Advanced Solutions Inc before it was acquired by Rocket Lab in 2021. John has guided the vision of the team in delivering industry-first, off-the-shelf spacecraft flight software products that enable cost-effective and highly capable constellation and interplanetary missions. The Space Systems Software team has supported some of the most ambitious Earth, interplanetary, and human spaceflight missions flown. These missions have explored distant planets, connected people on Earth, and pushed the boundaries of what is possible in space.

John has over three decades of experience developing complex Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems, flight software, real-time simulations, and autonomous systems for Earth-orbiting, planetary, and human-rated spacecraft. He has a unique ability to guide the transformation of key spacecraft technical expertise into products that enable the broader aerospace community to execute complex missions at low-cost and on fast-paced schedules.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University and a Master's degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Doug Sinclair serves as Engineering Fellow, providing continuity between Space Systems projects and the missions of previous decades. His focus areas are power electronics and space radiation effects.

Prior to its merger with Rocket Lab, Doug founded and ran Sinclair Interplanetary in Toronto, Canada, building star trackers and reaction wheels for a number of satellite constellations.

At the start of his career, he developed space astronomy missions including Canada's first space telescope which operated successfully for more than 15 years on-orbit.

Doug has a BASc in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto and a MSc in Satellite Engineering from the University of Surrey.

As Vice President of Government Operations and Business Strategy, Andrew Bunker is primarily responsible for the development and execution of Rocket Lab’s federal, state, and local government strategy. Mr. Bunker also plays a leading role in strengthening Rocket Lab’s engagement with industry associations. Mr. Bunker brings more than a decade of experience in legislative affairs and space regulation to the Rocket Lab team. Prior to joining Rocket Lab in November 2021, Mr. Bunker held the role of Director of Government Operations at United Launch Alliance (ULA). In this role, he was responsible for representing ULA before Congress on matters of importance to the company, including national security, civil, and commercial space. He also supported ULA’s engagement on regulatory matters before various federal agencies. Prior to working at ULA, Mr. Bunker worked for House Speaker John A. Boehner, where he served in a variety of positions supporting legislative efforts and operations on the House Floor. Mr. Bunker serves as the Marketing Chair of the Washington Space Business Roundtable and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wake Forest University.

Michael Whalen leads our Maryland-based team in delivering flight proven separation systems and deployment mechanisms. He led Planetary Systems Corporation (PSC) for 15 years before it was acquired by Rocket Lab in 2021. Mr. Whalen took PSC from a 5-person company to a leader in on-orbit deployment solutions for most of the world's launch vehicles with more than 200 separations on-orbit and a 100% success rate.

Mr. Whalen has more than 28 years of national security and aerospace experience in engineering and management. Prior to PSC, he was a program manger with Intel Corporation responsible for server-based encryption and decryption hardware development.

Mr. Whalen previously served as a US Naval Aviator accruing more than 500 combat flight-hours and holds a BS in Materials Engineering from Drexel University.

As Chief Information Officer, Brad Warezak is responsible for Rocket Lab’s Information Technology portfolio that will enable rapid growth in a reliable, scalable, and secure manner. His team of technology professionals maintain and improve Rocket Lab’s processes as a way of maximizing productivity and making complex tasks more achievable. Leveraging national standards and modern technology, his organization ensures Rocket Lab and partner intellectual property is properly protected from theft and disruption.

Brad has two decades of experience delivering advanced information technology solutions for high tech and aerospace manufacturing companies. Prior to Rocket Lab, Brad spent 5 years leading Howmet Fastening Systems Information Technology team, a global organization with manufacturing and distribution locations across North America, Europe and Asia. Brad also led the Enterprise Applications team while at Broadcom for 12 years and was a technical implementation consultant at Peoplesoft/Oracle for 5 years.

Brad holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a focus on Information Systems from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor degree in Operations and Logistics Management from Michigan State University.

Dr. Sandy Tirtey is Rocket Lab’s Director of Global Commercial Launch Services and the company’s Launch Director. Dr. Tirtey joined Rocket Lab in 2013 as Vehicle Team Lead, where he supervised the development and construction of the Electron launch vehicle. In 2015, Dr. Tirtey took on the role of Vice President of Vehicle Systems, before becoming Rocket Lab’s Launch Conductor in 2016. In this role, Dr. Tirtey led mission operators through the successful launches of ‘It’s A Test’ and ‘Still Testing’ in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Today, Dr. Tirtey is the Director of Global Commercial Launch Services and is based in Brisbane, Australia. In this role he supports small satellite operators globally to access orbit through frequent and reliable launch opportunities on the Electron launch vehicle.

Julia Rothman is responsible for all launch operations at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand – Rocket Lab’s primary spaceport for its Electron launch vehicle and the world’s first private orbital launch site.

Ms. Rothman brings to Rocket Lab more than two decades of aerospace experience working as a Technical Scientist and Engineer in both New Zealand and the United States. Ms. Rothman served eighteen years in the United States Air Force Space Command and Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate. As a Physicist Captain Rothman worked diverse programs such as responsive space launch, next-generation satellite communications & missile defense. As a Senior Engineer and later Deputy Chief Engineer, Ms. Rothman supported Space Superiority and the Defense Weather Systems Directorate, where she managed technical efforts and critical technology transitions across multiple teams and programs. Ms. Rothman successfully secured funding for new weather model development and Antarctic satellite receiver site which doubled the advance warning time for Category 5 hurricanes after Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Rothman was also instrumental  on a key space situational awareness program tracking space debris, data used all by space faring countries daily. Returning home to New Zealand in 2018, Ms. Rothman worked for the New Zealand Defence Force to introduce system engineering capabilities that allow for the proactive management of defense equipment. Recently, Ms. Rothman has also identified space technology development opportunities within the U.S. for Robinson Research Institute of Victoria University.

Ehson Mosleh leads the engineering and development of Rocket Lab’s Space Systems division and is responsible for architecting and implementing the company’s Photon spacecraft line, a family of customizable spacecraft available in low Earth orbit configurations through to interplanetary exploration models.

Ehson has almost two decades of experience building high-performance small satellites for civil, defense, and commercial customers. Prior to joining Rocket Lab, he was the Chief Scientist at Tyvak Nanosatellite Systems Inc., where he oversaw the architecture, development, and execution of a diverse set of advanced satellite missions. Ehson’s technical areas of expertise are in Systems Engineering, EO/IR Payloads, Flight Software and Autonomy, and tailored Mission Assurance practices for fast-paced programs.

He holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Computer Science from Montana State University.

Space Systems Chief Engineer

Richard French leads business development and strategy for Rocket Lab’s space systems division, providing end-to-end mission services and on-orbit operations with the company’s Photon family of small spacecraft and high-end satellite components including propulsion, reaction wheels, star trackers, avionics, solar arrays, and more.

Richard spent over a decade at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he led development of the Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator program and managed technology partnerships with industry in the Office of Space Technology. He also spent two years on detail to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as a Staff Technologist in the Space Technology Mission Directorate, leading development of the Tipping Point and Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity solicitations. Richard’s earlier career includes service as an engineer on various NASA missions, including being awarded the NASA Honors Early Career Public Achievement Medal for his work as a lead mechanical systems engineer on the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, and helping to land the Curiosity Rover on Mars as a member of the Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent, and landing systems engineering team.

Richard holds a Masters degree in Space Systems Engineering and a Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering, both from the University of Michigan.