Fancy a space career? Go after Nancy Vermeulen!
Describe a typical day at your job.
Strategic leadership consultancy, lectures and master classes on the theme of space, contributing writing and books.
What is the coolest part of your job?
Be able to share transformative insights and teach people to develop a different perspective on things from a helicopter perspective.
Are there aspects of your job that you don’t like so much?
Constantly having to frame the unjustified perception that space travel only serves the interests of a small elite, while space applications and the space economy have become part and parcel of our daily lives.
How did you get into this job?
That was a long road of trial and error and reinventing myself again and again.
What non – technical skills do you need in your profession? How have you been able to develop these?
Empathy, strong personal leadership and, of course, communication skills.
What orientation did you take at school? Did it influence your later career?
Latin Studies, but this has not really had an impact on my career.
What is the most valuable moment in your career so far?
My answer to this question is threefold. Lunch with Richard Branson, the Mars simulation mission in Utah and delivering training within the Space Training Academy.
What is your dream job?
I am a strategic leadership consultant, transformational speaker and space ambassador, but my dream job is astronaut.
What do you think will be the biggest challenges or changes in your field of work in the next 10 years? Do you have any advice on how you would tackle them?
Creating a legislative framework within the space economy so that the added value created outside Earth belongs to everyone on Earth and space does not just become an extension of the geostrategic interests of the major powers.