RpK Board of Directors

Dr. Enrico Beltramini
BA (Catholic University of Milan, business science), MBA (University of Stirling), PhD (University of Manchester, business science), PhD (University of Stirling, religious studies). Since 1997, he has been teaching Corporate Organization at Catholic University. He published five books and regularly collaborates with Italian national newspapers. He is Co-founder and Chairman of ITVest Capital, an investment firm that selects and invests together with private and institutional investors in technology companies in the United States, Asia and Europe. He worked at executive level at Fiat, Gucci, PA Consulting, and other international firms. He sits on the Board of Directors of American and Italian private companies, and is an adviser of the Ministry of the Communications in Italy. He was Member of the Board of Gucci and adviser of the Ministry of the Industry in Italy.

Dr. William Byrd
Founding president of the National Space Grant Foundation; adjunct assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Iowa State University; former US Naval officer in aeronautical engineering, former NASA engineer and manager with experience on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station programs. Dr. Byrd holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Science Degree from the University of Southern California in systems management. He completed a doctoral program from Kennedy-Western University in Public Administration. Appointed by the Governor to serve as the delegate for Iowa to the Aerospace States Association.

George D. French
Currently serves as President and Chairman of the Board of Rocketplane Global, as well as President of Space Explorers, Inc. Mr. French serves on the board of several aerospace-related organizations including Spaceflight Association of America, Inc., Lunar Research Institute, Inc. and Space Week International. Honors Mr. French has received include the 2000 NASA AMES Research Astrobiology Team Group Achievement Award, National Space Society, 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award, 1995 Aerospace State Association Achievement Award and 1996 and 2004 Republican National Convention Delegate.

Marian Joh
Co-founder, Chairperson of the Board, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Andrews Space (Andrews). She oversees the corporation’s business, contracts, and finance activities and provides direction for the budget, policy, and business strategies for the company. Prior to founding Andrews, Ms. Joh was Vice President of Scheinrock Advisory Group. She worked with clients to establish business strategies and developed corporate initiatives to improve their positions in the marketplace. Before Scheinrock, she was the lead Financial Analyst at Kistler Aerospace Corporation. Ms. Joh developed and managed the corporate financial model and was instrumental in developing Kistler’s business plan. She was a key member of the initial financial team that raised over $300 million in private equity.

General Merrill A. ("Tony") McPeak
USAF, (Ret.) Former Chief of Staff, USAF. A career fighter pilot, General McPeak commanded units at nearly every level, including squadron, wing, Numbered Air Force and major air command. He flew 269 combat missions in Vietnam and 200 air shows as a solo pilot for the Air Force "Thunderbirds." In 1993, General McPeak was the recipient of the Thomas D. White Space Trophy for outstanding contributions to progress in astronautics. Since retirement from active service, he has been an investor and director of public and privately held companies. General McPeak has an Honors Degree in Economics from San Diego State University and a Master's in International Affairs from George Washington University.

Dr. George Mueller
Joined Kistler in 1995 as CEO and became Chairman and Chief Vehicle Architect in 2004. From 1963-1969, Dr. Mueller was head of the Apollo Manned Space Flight Program for NASA. He originated Skylab, the first space station and is acknowledged as the “Father of the Space Shuttle.” Dr. Mueller holds a B.S.E.E. degree from University of Missouri-Rolla; an M.S.E.E. degree from Purdue University and a Ph.D. degree in Physics from Ohio State University. He is the recipient of six honorary degrees and many prestigious awards, including three NASA Distinguished Service Medals and the Nat’l Medal of Science for his contributions.

Charles J. Precourt
Currently ATK Vice President, Strategy and Business Development. He served in the USAF as an instructor pilot, an F-15 pilot and experimental test pilot. He also served as an astronaut at NASA and is a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions. He was the pilot of the first Shuttle docking mission, which linked with Russia’s Mir Space Station in 1995 and later commanded two additional missions to the Mir Space Station. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Corps, responsible for the mission certification of all Space Shuttle and International Space Station crews. He was also Deputy Program Manager for the International Space Station, and later the Program Manager of the Crew Exploration Vehicle before joining ATK in 2005. At ATK he has served as Vice President of Advanced Programs, and most recently Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. He is a graduate of the USAF Academy with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and Masters Degrees from Golden Gate University in Engineering Management and the Naval War College in National Security Affairs.

Dr. James R. Stuart
International consultant specializing in advanced commercial space systems. Previous positions include President of IOSTAR Corp; V.P. and Chief Architect at Teledesic Corp., Chief Scientist/Engineer at Ball Aerospace. He was the founding Chief Engineer of Orbital Sciences Corp; and Project Manager at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for two missions. Dr. Stuart holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering; M.S. in Operations Research, and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in Physics from the University of Washington. He has received NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal and authored two text books and more than 150 professional papers.