The Aerospace Corp. has elected Celeste Ford, managing director at Stellar Ventures and founder and board chair of Stellar Solutions Inc., to its board of trustees.
Ford is a defense and space entrepreneur whose technical leadership has shaped defense, intelligence, civil and commercial space programs, the company said.
“Celeste’s visionary leadership and deep technical expertise make her a tremendous asset to our Board of Trustees,” said Tanya Pemberton, Aerospace president and CEO. “Her talent for turning complex challenges into mission-ready solutions will be instrumental as we continue to advance and secure the nation’s space capabilities.”
Ford launched Stellar Ventures in 2022 to invest in the next generation of space technology companies and served as its managing director. She founded Stellar Solutions, an aerospace engineering company, in 1995, where she served as its CEO until 2018.
She also created the Stellar Solutions Foundation in 1998, launched the QuakeFinder humanitarian research and development program in 2001, and later expanded Stellar’s global footprint by establishing companies in the U.K. and France in 2003 and 2017, respectively.
Ford currently serves on several public, private and nonprofit boards, including the board of trustees at the University of Notre Dame and the Council on Foreign Relations.