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News — PHOENIX, April 2, 2021 — Thunderbird School of Global Management announced that Dr. Greg Autry is joining the faculty as Clinical Professor of Space Leadership, Policy and Business.

Professor Autry will be developing and delivering Thunderbird programs and courses in space entrepreneurship, leadership, business and policy, including an entirely new master’s degree in Los Angeles to be launched in January 2022 on Global Technological Leadership. Autry will also teach courses for professionals earning certificates. He will be working closely with Professor Linda Elkins-Tanton, Managing Director of the (II), and Professor James Bell, Director of ASU NewSpace Initiative () to develop a cross-disciplinary Institute of Space Leadership and Management.

“I am extremely pleased to be joining Thunderbird and Arizona State University,” said Professor Autry. “ASU’s visionary leadership in space exploration and development combined with Dean Khagram’s focus on global innovation at Thunderbird offers the perfect fit for my teaching and research agenda. There is nothing I would rather be doing than teaching space entrepreneurship, leadership and policy in a school with the top-ranked master’s in management program at America’s most innovative university. I’m particularly excited that with the new LA campus opening, I will be working within the commercial space hub of Southern California. The possibilities for students, industry and humanity are boundless," Autry said.

“Thunderbird is the #1 school for global management and ASU is the #1 university for innovation,” said Thunderbird Dean and Director General Sanjeev Khagram. “Outer space offers virtually unlimited opportunities in this 4th Industrial Revolution. As the space sector grows exponentially, private companies and governments will create immense demand for future-ready entrepreneurs, investors, executives and managers. Greg’s expertise and experience as an innovator and leader in both the business and policy sides of outer space enterprises will position our graduates for leadership roles at the frontiers of human exploration and discovery,” said Khagram. “Greg will turbo-charge our quest to become the Thunderbird Academy of Intergalactic Leadership with our partners at ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative and NewSpace in the years to come!”

“Humans are going to explore space both in person and using robots, and how we do it really matters—here we have a chance to connect with and influence space expansion to be more equitable and inclusive as well as more effective and sustainable,” said Professor Elkins-Tanton. “Doing exploration right is a big goal, and Greg’s expertise in industry and government make him a key expert to help us bring this ecosystem together!”

Greg Autry was an assistant clinical professor of entrepreneurship with the Lloyd Greif Center at the University of Southern California from 2013 to 2020. He taught entrepreneurship, strategy, and macroeconomics at the University of California, Irvine, between 2002 and 2014. Autry also teaches space entrepreneurship at the Kennedy Space Center as part of a graduate certificate program in commercial space from International Space University and the Florida Institute of Technology. His research has focused on the government’s role in the emergence of new industries, and he has researched within the booming commercial space industry since 2003. 

Scott Pace, Director of the Space Policy Institute and former Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, commented, "Greg Autry is a noted scholar of commercial space enterprise with practical knowledge of both politics and business. He's a terrific addition to Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU."

Professor Autry’s extensive experience in space policy includes serving on the 2016 NASA agency review team to establish the Moon program’s current return. Autry served as NASA White House Liaison in early 2017, and last year, the President nominated him to serve as the space agency’s Chief Financial Officer. By appointment of the Secretary of Transportation, he currently serves as Chair of the Safety Working Group in the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) at FAA. Autry has been a notable advocate for space exploration and development. Currently, he serves as Vice President of the National Space Society and the Beyond Earth Institute, non-profit organizations dedicated to extending humanity’s presence into our solar system.

Before entering higher education, Autry had a career as a serial entrepreneur, founding several technology startups. These ventures included a video game developer, computer services firm, and an enterprise software development company in the clinical healthcare space.

Professor Autry holds a BA in History from California Polytechnic University at Pomona and an MBA and PhD from the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.

David Radzanowski, who served as Chief of Staff and Chief Financial Officer at NASA during the Obama administration, notes that “Greg’s long experience with the space industry and governmental experience combine to give him the ideal background to teach space executives and liaison to the space industry.”

Thunderbird School of Global Management is a unit of the Arizona State University Enterprise. For 75 years, Thunderbird has been the vanguard of global management and leadership education, creating inclusive and sustainable prosperity worldwide by educating future-ready global leaders capable of tackling the world’s most significant challenges. Thunderbird’s Master of Global Management was ranked #1 in the world for 2019 by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. ASU is ranked No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. Â鶹´«Ã½ & World Report for six years in succession. Thunderbird Executive Education has been ranked in the top 10 internationally for decades. Learn more:

Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution committed to access, excellence, and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social, and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it. 

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Jonathan Ward – Thunderbird Media Relations

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