Chief Executive, Virgin Orbit

Hart currently oversees Richard Branson’s commercial space firm, which launches satellites into space from a rocket carried under the wing of a modified Boeing 747. Hart joined Virgin Orbit after more than three decades of aerospace leadership at the Boeing Co., where he served as vice president of Government Satellite Systems. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the State University of New York at Albany and attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. This year Hart received Aviation Week Magazine’s Laureate award for Space Leadership and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 2