Chief Executive, Rocket Lab USA Inc.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Beck skipped university and developed his engineering skills working for Fisher and Paykel. He founded Rocket Lab in 2006 and began building rockets that carry scientific instruments into space. His team launched Electron in 2017, a reusable rocket designed to deploy small satellites. Last year, Electron was used to send a mission to the Moon for NASA. Rocket Lab also is a spacecraft and components manufacturer, with more than 25 spacecraft in development including a NASA mission to Mars, communications constellation, in-space manufacturing modules and refueling depots. The company opened its Long Beach headquarters in 2020.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 3