George Whitesides is the CEO of Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company founded by Sir Richard Branson. In his role, George is responsible for guiding all aspects of the company to commercial operation at Spaceport America in New Mexico. Prior to Virgin Galactic, George served as NASA’s Chief of Staff. George is a board member for Virgin Unite USA, the philanthropic organization of Virgin Group, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Space Security, and a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He and his wife Loretta have two children and live in Lancaster, California.