48: Mike French from Aerospace Industries Association

• Mike's love for space exploration runs deep and was influenced by the space movies and museums that he enjoyed as a kid. Now he enjoys watching rocket launches through the eyes of his kids!
• Mitigating orbital space debris- what does this mean for the future of space and how both governments and private industry can work together on this challenging issue?
• Mike helps us understand "the rules of the road" when it comes to how space debris is governed, and why the U.S. has been a leader in helping to serve as a model and an example for all countries exploring space helping to shape international space exploration policy.

"[In the space community], you have highly capable people used to working in an environment where you need a team to get it done, and they have an overall sense of the mission – it's geared toward collaboration- and it's a very unique aspect of [this] industry." -Mike French

About Mike French: Mike French is Vice President for Space Systems at the Aerospace Industries Association. As the lead of the Space Systems policy division, Mike works with AIA's membership to advocate for policies, regulations, and investments that ensure American leadership and strong industry partnership across the civil, commercial, and national security sectors.

Mike's experience in the space industry ranges from advising senior government leaders on space policy, to developing market forecasts and assessments for industry executives, to analyzing major space investments for companies and banks. He previously served as the Senior Vice President for Commercial Space at Bryce Space and Technology, a market analysis and management consulting firm.

Mike has also held several federal government positions, most recently serving as NASA's Chief of Staff, advising the NASA Administrator, White House, and other government leadership on national space policy issues. He received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal for his service. Prior to serving in government, he practiced law in the defense and aerospace sector in Los Angeles where he advised clients on matters regarding aircraft and aerospace weapons systems. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Where to find Mike and his work: https://www.aia-aerospace.org/

Career opportunities and this week's featured "Job In Space" at: https://www.aia-aerospace.org/careers/

More featured guests from the SpaceCom Expo are coming! Check out who's presenting what and when at https://spacecomexpo.com/