Sir Peter BeckFounder, President, CEO & Chairman, Rocket Lab USA

Sir Peter Beck is the founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Lab. Since founding the company in 2006, he has transformed it into a global leader in developing and launching advanced rockets, satellites, and spacecraft. Beck has served on Rocket Lab’s board of directors and as its President and CEO since July 2013 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in May 2021.

Since 2013, Beck has led the development of the Electron rocket. Under his leadership, Rocket Lab has pioneered advanced aerospace manufacturing techniques, including 3D-printed rocket engines, electric-pump-fed rocket engines, and fully carbon-composite fuel tanks. Beck also spearheaded the development of Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, in Mahia, New Zealand. Establishing the site required negotiating an international treaty and enacting legislation to enable the use of U.S. launch and spacecraft technology from foreign soil—an unprecedented achievement.

Before founding Rocket Lab, Beck began his career in 1993 as an apprentice precision engineer at global appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel, where he later transitioned into production machinery design, product design, and analysis. In 2003, he joined a government research institute, focusing on advanced composite structures and materials for high-performance applications. During this time, Beck led several complex engineering programs, optimizing technologies such as wind turbines and superconductors. Even in his early years, Beck pursued a passion for rocketry, building increasingly sophisticated rockets. In 2006, he founded Rocket Lab, culminating in the successful launch of Atea-1 in 2009, which is believed to be the first commercially developed rocket to reach space from the Southern Hemisphere.

An award-winning engineer, Beck has received numerous honors, including the Gold Medal and Meritorious Medal from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society, as well as the Cooper Medal and Pickering Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to aerospace, entrepreneurship, and technical innovation, he was appointed an adjunct professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Auckland. In 2024, Beck was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the aerospace industry, business, and education.