6 ms·

Gwynne Shotwell Is Steadying Force at SpaceX

95 points by jkuria 8y ago

captn3m0 8y ago
Her name (why is it not in the headline WSJ!) is Gwynne Shotwell
- Waterluvian 8y ago
  To be fair, I wouldn't be surprised to see the same headline if it were a man. Headlines like to be that way. Especially with less commonly known names.
  - eachro 8y ago
    Regardless of gender, the name should be in the headline.
    - infradig 8y ago
      Why? The whole point of the article is about someone who chooses to remain in the background.
    - uxp100 8y ago
      I believe conventional journalism practice is basically the opposite. Names shouldn’t be in headlines unless they are immediately recognisable.
- dboreham 8y ago
  Now we know where the inspiration for Pepper Potts came from.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    I had to look this up, but according to both their wikipedia pages Shotwell was born two months after Pepper Potts first appeared in the comic. In 1963. (Comics are not nearly as original or modern as they'd like to pretend to be!)
    - manicdee 8y ago
      To be fair Gwynne working for Elon is a darn good case of life imitating art! Tony Stark is an arsehole, so is Elon.
  - rwallace 8y ago
    I understand where you're coming from with the parallel, but for the sake of understanding what's going on here, it's worth bearing in mind that they are not really equivalent. Potts (at least as far as I can tell from the movies; I haven't read the comics; please let me know if they take a different approach) is personal assistant to the cranky genius; her job is to go with him and help him do his next great project. Shotwell is operations; her job is to take over the company the cranky genius built, keep it running smoothly and profitably, and let him go off and do his next great project. Different jobs, both important. (It's a pity Musk doesn't seem to have a Pepper Potts, who might have talked him into giving up his Twitter account.)
    - scarejunba 8y ago
      > ... her job is to take over the company the cranky genius built, keep it running smoothly and profitably, and let him go off and do his next great project. I think this is precisely what Pepper Potts ends up doing in the movies. Tony Stark stops running the company. Not to condone the comparison or anything, just clarifying what happens in the movies.
    - cashsterling 8y ago
      Gwynne didn't "take over a company a crank genius built"... she helped build that company with her own genius and A-grade aerospace experience. I am not calling you out specifically... just think that her importance to SpaceX has been diminished and undersold and I think it due to: (1) the oversized spotlight that Elon commands and (2) Gwynne is a woman, and fairly attractive at that... and so multiple biases play against her.
  - rectang 8y ago
    Pepper Potts is a love interest for Tony Stark. Comparing Gwynne Shotwell to her is sexualizing and demeaning.
- themodelplumber 8y ago
  I thought this was a joke, and then I thought about why, and realized I was thinking about "Glenn Snackwell," Matt Damon's made-up character in Ocean's Twelve. What a strange coincidence.
- dang 8y ago
  It's in the subtitle. That's pretty standard for the genre. But we've put her name in the title above.
misotaur 8y ago
Paywall.Paste it somewhere maybe?
- nabaraj 8y ago
  https://outline.com/RAr4c6 https://outline.com/RAr4c6
projectileboy 8y ago
This is almost always the case with consistently successful companies - the CEOs get the coverage and the glory, but scratch the surface and you'll find a stellar COO who makes the whole thing actually work.
- RangerScience 8y ago
  "Lightbulb things and battery things" - https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-63-2/ https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-63-2/
  - __s 8y ago
    Making battery things just ends up with your name being an SI unit
- wycs 8y ago
  It should be noted that some people don't really want glory or fame, and are perfectly happy just becoming filthy rich. I think of fame, in this age of online mobs, as a curse, a sort of disfigurement that lives in the minds of other people.
  - manicdee 8y ago
    I Gwynne’s case I am pretty sure what makes her happy is achieving the impossible and making it routine.
- liftbigweights 8y ago
  It isn't just the COO. An organization is successful because of a lot of great people. The CEO or COO are inconsequential. It's the organization that succeeds, not the CEO or COO or any individual. It's like a few years ago when steve jobs died, some people were claiming Apple was doomed. The "great man or woman" theory has been debunked enough that we know it is nonsense. But as you noted, a successful company needs a stellar COO. So why is this news?
  - 8y ago
ecesena 8y ago
Highly recommended TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/gwynne_shotwell_spacex_s_plan_to_fly_you_across_the_globe_in_30_minutes https://www.ted.com/talks/gwynne_shotwell_spacex_s_plan_to_f...
umeshunni 8y ago
Perhaps Elon needs such a COO at Tesla, too.
- apapli 8y ago
  Agree. It goes to show Elon doesn't need to be as hands-on as he appears to be when he has a good 2IC on board.
- mikeash 8y ago
  This seems to be a pretty common sentiment in the Tesla/SpaceX fan community.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    It may be difficult to find someone Musk trusts as much as Shotwell, given her lengthy, loyal tenure alongside him.
    - _ph_ 8y ago
      It might already have happened - Jerome just became president of Tesla automotive. Sounds to me that this means one of the long-time Tesla VPs moved into a position to take over a lot of the direct management duties from Elon and also be a steadying force.
- sneak 8y ago
  The Earth could absolutely use more Gwynne Shotwells. She is amazing.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
mncharity 8y ago
How to usefully say this briefly? The article has some interesting context. The byline is Andy Pasztor, who is known for anti-SpaceX low-quality journalism. This article was relatively tame for him. There's been a long-term press campaign against SpaceX. Apparently coming from old-aerospace. Its narratives have been... unconstrained by reality. And seemingly overlap with parts of the article. Long-term, the press campaign seems to be ramping up. Modulo intense tactical campaigns like Northrop's around loss of Zuma, which lasted only a few days. The many-$B "Senate"LaunchSystem appears in increasing trouble, both internally, and threatened by SpaceX's BFR. So odds are we'll enjoy a lot more of these. > In August, reporters asked Ms. Shotwell how confident she was about the latest timetable. Such difficult predictions “can make a liar out of the best of us,” she said, adding: “I hope I am not proven to be a liar.” This last paragraph... ick. Not worrying about the mischaracterization of delay, that's just Pasztor. But the association of Shotwell and "liar"... Shotwell is known for her honesty. Boeing leadership... very not so much. I do hope this isn't a new meme - that would be remarkably slimy. Meta: There's the idea that knowing some topic, and seeing the press repeatedly get it wrong, causes one to doubt their reporting of everything else. Watching press coverage of SpaceX has introduced me to an unhappy variant. Knowing some political background for a topic, and finding it essential to even "read" press articles, leaves me wondering if I've been unknowingly failing to adequately "read" press coverage of everything else. :/
- whatshisface 8y ago
  >There's the idea that knowing some topic, and seeing the press repeatedly get it wrong, causes one to doubt their reporting of everything else. Typically, this is presented as the opposite, where most people seem to mysteriously forget how poorly the media treats their own area of expertise when they turn around to trust it in other areas[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Mann_amnesia_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Mann_amnesia_effect
  - exolymph 8y ago
    It goes both ways. Some people have a Gell-Mann revelation, some suffer from the amnesia.
neonate 8y ago
http://archive.is/F7KnL http://archive.is/F7KnL
fredfoobar 8y ago
Alternate title: Lady does a job.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
cashsterling 8y ago
I didn't read the article because of the paywall. Gwynne Shotwell is much, much more than a steadying force at SpaceX. She is brilliant and an amazing leader and has been pivotal in the success of SpaceX... as in: if you replaced her with someone else, I doubt SpaceX would be where they are today. It is sad that her amazing accomplishments are often glossed over and/or overshadowed. I hope she is properly recognized in time. I think she is adversely affected by bias in the press (gender, etc.) I don't work at SpaceX (used to work for JPL)... so this is just an outsider's opinion. I'm also male, FWIW.
synaesthesisx 8y ago
Tesla needs a COO that can keep Musk in check

95 points by jkuria 8y ago

captn3m0 8y ago

Her name (why is it not in the headline WSJ!) is Gwynne Shotwell

Waterluvian 8y ago
To be fair, I wouldn't be surprised to see the same headline if it were a man. Headlines like to be that way. Especially with less commonly known names.
- eachro 8y ago
  Regardless of gender, the name should be in the headline.
  - infradig 8y ago
    Why? The whole point of the article is about someone who chooses to remain in the background.
  - uxp100 8y ago
    I believe conventional journalism practice is basically the opposite. Names shouldn’t be in headlines unless they are immediately recognisable.
dboreham 8y ago
Now we know where the inspiration for Pepper Potts came from.
- pjc50 8y ago
  I had to look this up, but according to both their wikipedia pages Shotwell was born two months after Pepper Potts first appeared in the comic. In 1963. (Comics are not nearly as original or modern as they'd like to pretend to be!)
  - manicdee 8y ago
    To be fair Gwynne working for Elon is a darn good case of life imitating art! Tony Stark is an arsehole, so is Elon.
- rwallace 8y ago
  I understand where you're coming from with the parallel, but for the sake of understanding what's going on here, it's worth bearing in mind that they are not really equivalent. Potts (at least as far as I can tell from the movies; I haven't read the comics; please let me know if they take a different approach) is personal assistant to the cranky genius; her job is to go with him and help him do his next great project. Shotwell is operations; her job is to take over the company the cranky genius built, keep it running smoothly and profitably, and let him go off and do his next great project. Different jobs, both important. (It's a pity Musk doesn't seem to have a Pepper Potts, who might have talked him into giving up his Twitter account.)
  - scarejunba 8y ago
    > ... her job is to take over the company the cranky genius built, keep it running smoothly and profitably, and let him go off and do his next great project. I think this is precisely what Pepper Potts ends up doing in the movies. Tony Stark stops running the company. Not to condone the comparison or anything, just clarifying what happens in the movies.
  - cashsterling 8y ago
    Gwynne didn't "take over a company a crank genius built"... she helped build that company with her own genius and A-grade aerospace experience. I am not calling you out specifically... just think that her importance to SpaceX has been diminished and undersold and I think it due to: (1) the oversized spotlight that Elon commands and (2) Gwynne is a woman, and fairly attractive at that... and so multiple biases play against her.
- rectang 8y ago
  Pepper Potts is a love interest for Tony Stark. Comparing Gwynne Shotwell to her is sexualizing and demeaning.
themodelplumber 8y ago
I thought this was a joke, and then I thought about why, and realized I was thinking about "Glenn Snackwell," Matt Damon's made-up character in Ocean's Twelve. What a strange coincidence.
dang 8y ago
It's in the subtitle. That's pretty standard for the genre. But we've put her name in the title above.

misotaur 8y ago

Paywall.Paste it somewhere maybe?

nabaraj 8y ago
https://outline.com/RAr4c6 https://outline.com/RAr4c6

projectileboy 8y ago

This is almost always the case with consistently successful companies - the CEOs get the coverage and the glory, but scratch the surface and you'll find a stellar COO who makes the whole thing actually work.

RangerScience 8y ago
"Lightbulb things and battery things" - https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-63-2/ https://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-5/page-63-2/
- __s 8y ago
  Making battery things just ends up with your name being an SI unit
wycs 8y ago
It should be noted that some people don't really want glory or fame, and are perfectly happy just becoming filthy rich. I think of fame, in this age of online mobs, as a curse, a sort of disfigurement that lives in the minds of other people.
- manicdee 8y ago
  I Gwynne’s case I am pretty sure what makes her happy is achieving the impossible and making it routine.
liftbigweights 8y ago
It isn't just the COO. An organization is successful because of a lot of great people. The CEO or COO are inconsequential. It's the organization that succeeds, not the CEO or COO or any individual. It's like a few years ago when steve jobs died, some people were claiming Apple was doomed. The "great man or woman" theory has been debunked enough that we know it is nonsense. But as you noted, a successful company needs a stellar COO. So why is this news?
- 8y ago

ecesena 8y ago

Highly recommended TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/gwynne_shotwell_spacex_s_plan_to_fly_you_across_the_globe_in_30_minutes https://www.ted.com/talks/gwynne_shotwell_spacex_s_plan_to_f...

umeshunni 8y ago

Perhaps Elon needs such a COO at Tesla, too.

apapli 8y ago
Agree. It goes to show Elon doesn't need to be as hands-on as he appears to be when he has a good 2IC on board.
mikeash 8y ago
This seems to be a pretty common sentiment in the Tesla/SpaceX fan community.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  It may be difficult to find someone Musk trusts as much as Shotwell, given her lengthy, loyal tenure alongside him.
  - _ph_ 8y ago
    It might already have happened - Jerome just became president of Tesla automotive. Sounds to me that this means one of the long-time Tesla VPs moved into a position to take over a lot of the direct management duties from Elon and also be a steadying force.
sneak 8y ago
The Earth could absolutely use more Gwynne Shotwells. She is amazing.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

mncharity 8y ago

How to usefully say this briefly? The article has some interesting context. The byline is Andy Pasztor, who is known for anti-SpaceX low-quality journalism. This article was relatively tame for him. There's been a long-term press campaign against SpaceX. Apparently coming from old-aerospace. Its narratives have been... unconstrained by reality. And seemingly overlap with parts of the article. Long-term, the press campaign seems to be ramping up. Modulo intense tactical campaigns like Northrop's around loss of Zuma, which lasted only a few days. The many-$B "Senate"LaunchSystem appears in increasing trouble, both internally, and threatened by SpaceX's BFR. So odds are we'll enjoy a lot more of these. > In August, reporters asked Ms. Shotwell how confident she was about the latest timetable. Such difficult predictions “can make a liar out of the best of us,” she said, adding: “I hope I am not proven to be a liar.” This last paragraph... ick. Not worrying about the mischaracterization of delay, that's just Pasztor. But the association of Shotwell and "liar"... Shotwell is known for her honesty. Boeing leadership... very not so much. I do hope this isn't a new meme - that would be remarkably slimy. Meta: There's the idea that knowing some topic, and seeing the press repeatedly get it wrong, causes one to doubt their reporting of everything else. Watching press coverage of SpaceX has introduced me to an unhappy variant. Knowing some political background for a topic, and finding it essential to even "read" press articles, leaves me wondering if I've been unknowingly failing to adequately "read" press coverage of everything else. :/

whatshisface 8y ago
>There's the idea that knowing some topic, and seeing the press repeatedly get it wrong, causes one to doubt their reporting of everything else. Typically, this is presented as the opposite, where most people seem to mysteriously forget how poorly the media treats their own area of expertise when they turn around to trust it in other areas[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Mann_amnesia_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell-Mann_amnesia_effect
- exolymph 8y ago
  It goes both ways. Some people have a Gell-Mann revelation, some suffer from the amnesia.

neonate 8y ago

http://archive.is/F7KnL http://archive.is/F7KnL

fredfoobar 8y ago

Alternate title: Lady does a job.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

cashsterling 8y ago

I didn't read the article because of the paywall. Gwynne Shotwell is much, much more than a steadying force at SpaceX. She is brilliant and an amazing leader and has been pivotal in the success of SpaceX... as in: if you replaced her with someone else, I doubt SpaceX would be where they are today. It is sad that her amazing accomplishments are often glossed over and/or overshadowed. I hope she is properly recognized in time. I think she is adversely affected by bias in the press (gender, etc.) I don't work at SpaceX (used to work for JPL)... so this is just an outsider's opinion. I'm also male, FWIW.

synaesthesisx 8y ago

Tesla needs a COO that can keep Musk in check