Richard French in

Richard French

Enthusiast · DISC type i
Vice President - Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems at Rocket Lab
📍 Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States

Richard French is the Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Space Systems at Rocket Lab. He leverages over a decade of experience from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he was a mechanical systems engineer on missions like the Curiosity Mars Rover. He earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in engineering from the University of Michigan.

Outside of his direct professional role, Richard is deeply engaged with the aerospace community. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and gives seminars at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, where he was recognized as the Alumni of the Year for the Department of Climate and Space in 2025.

He describes himself as a "manic implementer, " combining a vision for the future of commercial space with practical, hands-on experience developing spaceflight hardware.

Read the full overview →
Experience
21 Years
Current Role
Vice President - Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems
Job Level
Senior
Location
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States
Personality Overview

How Richard shows up

Amiable & Agreeable
Optimistic
Story Driven

They agree with others often, so exercise caution when relying on their word. Unlike D or C types, they are convinced more by stories and testimonials. They prefer to build relationships rather than staying totally transactional.

Priorities

Topics Richard cares about

National Security Space
His work and public statements emphasize delivering operational capabilities for missile defense, space domain awareness, and resiliency to support the warfighter.
Planetary Science
He is passionate about planetary science missions, frequently discussing Rocket Lab's work on NASA's ESCAPADE mission and advocating for affordable Mars sample return solutions.
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Career

Work history

6-2024
Vice President - Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems
Rocket Lab
12-2022 - 6-2024
Senior Director, Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems
Rocket Lab
7-2020 - 12-2022
Director, Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems
Rocket Lab
5-2017 - 8-2019
Manager, Technology Partnerships, Office of Space Technology
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
8-2007 - 5-2017
Mechnical Engineer
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
In the press

Media appearances

No media yetWe could not find public media appearances for this person.
Education
2006 - 2007
Master of Engineering
University of Michigan
2002 - 2006
Bachelor of Science in Engineering
University of Michigan
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

i

Influence (I)

Influence (I) reflects the degree to which a person prefers to work by influencing or persuading others. Those scoring high tend to be people oriented, motivated by social recognition and building relationships.

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