Mr. Simpson is a 41-year veteran in the aerospace and defense industry. Mr. Simpson is currently serving as the Chief Strategy Officer for Virgin Orbit moving from the Virgin Orbit Board. Prior to joining Virgin Orbit, Mr. Simpson was CEO for the start-up Saturn Satellite Networks Inc with the objective to provide economical space communications at the “National” level. Providing Countries or private entities communications intra-Nation. In addition, Mr. Simpson as a casual consultant to the LinQuest Corporation supported the Principal Assistant US Secretary of the Air Force for Space for Space related matters.
Mr. Simpson recently served as the CEO and member of the Board of Directors for ABS Satellites. Prior to joining ABS, Mr. Simpson spent 2 years as the Aerojet Rocketdyne Corporate Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development. Mr. Simpson lead the Aerojet Rocketdyne organization responsible for business development and strategy, with ownership of the business acquisition process, new business pursuits, product marketing, and the development the annual and long- range strategic plans as well as mergers and acquisitions for the company.
Prior to joining Aerojet Rocketdyne, he retired from The Boeing Company after 35 years. Mr. Simpson served as the vice president of Business Development & Strategy for Network and Space Systems at Boeing Defense, Space & Security prior to retirement. In this position, he was responsible for customer engagement, new business, advocacy and marketing efforts, research and development investments, mergers and acquisitions, business unit strategy and leadership development.
Mr. Simpson has held numerous senior leadership positions during his career at Boeing, serving as the president of Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc., president of Boeing Commercial Satellite Services Inc., and vice president of Commercial Satellite Systems for Space and Intelligence Systems (S&IS) within Boeing Network and Space Systems. In 2013, he was responsible for leading the general management of all Boeing commercial satellites, ground systems and services. He also led the company’s efforts in a variety of commercial satellite systems, including Intelsat, Inmarsat, ViaSat, MEXSAT and SES, a joint procurement contract from Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) and Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex).
As vice president of Boeing in 1998, Mr. Simpson was involved in a variety of strategic business areas within Boeing’s space business, which encompassed Boeing’s Launch & Satellite systems unit, Sea Launch, Expendable Launch Systems, and Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power business units.
Mr. Simpson received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He also holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Materials Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has a graduate certificate in Engineering Management from the California Institute of Technology. In addition, he currently serves as an AIAA member and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society