Gregory Robinson is a 33-year veteran of NASA and the former director of the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb), a $10 billion project that surpasses the Hubble Telescope in power. Under his leadership, the programme was transformed from being over budget and inefficient, with an efficiency rating of 55%, to achieving 95%.

Gregory improved communication with various stakeholders, including Congress, the White House, and international space agencies, while managing nearly 20,000 scientists and engineers across 29 countries and 14 U.S. states. Webb is now one million miles from Earth, sending back unprecedented images and expected to capture the origins of the universe over its 20-year lifespan.

Gregory has received numerous accolades for his contributions, including being named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022 and receiving the TIME100 Impact Award. He was also honoured as the 2022 Federal Employee of the Year and received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, one of the highest recognitions for senior executives in the U.S. government. Additionally, Columbia University has invited him to lecture on information strategy and project management.

Before leading Webb, Gregory held various roles at NASA, including overseeing 114 missions for the Science Mission Directorate and participating in 21 shuttle launches after the Columbia accident. He joined NASA in 1989 after earning a degree in electrical engineering from Howard University, becoming one of the few Black professionals at the agency.

Gregory also holds an M.B.A. from Averett University and was a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard. He has previously taught at George Washington University in the Department of Engineering Management & Systems Engineering.