Rob is Director Business Development in the Satellite Management Services division of SSC Space US, Inc. Prior to joining SSC, Rob was one of the earliest employees at Pumpkin (2008), where he evangelized the elevation of CubeSats from kits to turnkey spacecraft for sophisticated government customers.
He is versed in spacecraft design, manufacture, launch, and operations, as well as ground station services. Rob managed Pumpkin’s programs for the government, as well as Pumpkin’s 6U SUPERNOVA-Beta mission, which was launched in 2015.
Rob began his career at Bain & Company in Palo Alto, Boston and Moscow offices. While in the former Soviet Union, Rob developed large, highly profitable consumer products businesses.
He brought his pioneering energy to space, challenging convention and business models. His interest in space, his interest in Russia, and in international cooperation all stem from one event: Apollo-Soyuz.
A graduate of Stanford University, he completed dual majors in Economics and Russian Literature. He later earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Rob is driven by units which are measured in dollars rather than in milliamps or micro-radians and believes that human capital, not technology, is what makes the world better.
He holds a current amateur radio license and SCUBA certificates as well as expired sky-diving credentials. He speaks fluent Russian and is a fan of Mariinskiy ballet. Rob and his wife live in the Bay Area and enjoy frequent travel to friends around the world.