The top executives running Elon Musk’s space tech company

(Credit: Ludovic Marin—AFP/Getty Images; Courtesy of SpaceX)

In 2002, SpaceX made its most important hire when Gwynne Shotwell joined as vice president of business development. Shotwell is a former high school cheerleader who is trained as an engineer but without the stereotypical nerdiness—she has been described as smooth and well-spoken. She is a trusted Musk advisor who can speak honestly without annoying Musk. Shotwell oversees SpaceX’s day-to-day as president and COO. Mark Juncosa, another Musk lieutenant, was previously in charge of Starlink, the satellite internet constellation that is expected to go public. In 2022, Shotwell and Juncosa were put in charge of overseeing the facility and operations of Starbase, one of four active SpaceX launch sites.

SpaceX secured a $350 billion valuation in late 2024, making it one of the hottest companies. On the SpaceX board you’ll find Antonio Gracias, a long-time friend and confidant of Musk’s (Gracias stepped down from the Tesla board in 2021). His growth firm, Valor Equity partners, has invested in other Musk companies including SpaceX, Tesla, the Boring Company, and Neuralink.

Like many Musk companies, SpaceX is not very forthcoming with information and did not respond to requests for comment. Fortune relied on news reports, government documents and filings, as well as social media posts including LinkedIn and X, to compile its list of executives. We attempted to contact everyone. Scroll further down to find links that reveal who is running Musk's other operations, including DOGE.

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Read more:

• The top power players at X, Elon Musk's social media company
• The top power players at Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain tech startup
• The top power players at Elon Musk's OpenAI competitor, xAI
• The top power players at Elon Musk's tunnel firm The Boring Company
• The top power players at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
• The top power players at Tesla, the biggest of Elon Musk’s six companies

This story has been updated from a version that was originally published in November 2023.