The team behind the propulsion

Sassie Duggleby is the CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace. Prior to founding Venus, she served as a Launch Systems Engineer and Mission Management Consultant at Virgin Orbit. Her background includes executive roles in fiber optics, biotechnology, and manufacturing startups.

Sassie is a board member of the Texas Space Commission and a member of YPO. She holds a B.S., summa cum laude, in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Virginia Tech.

Dr. Andrew Duggleby is the CTO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace. Previously, he was Head of Launch Operations at Virgin Orbit, where he oversaw mission control, launch infrastructure, and ground systems. He also led the development and hotfire of a dual-mode 3D-printed rocket engine in partnership with NASA.

He has held faculty positions in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, and co-founded Exosent Engineering. Andrew holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Tom Barron is the VP of Operations at Venus Aerospace. He previously served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, where he led strategic planning and National Defense Strategy implementation. He also brings experience as a White House Fellow and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised aerospace and advanced industrial clients on a range of strategy and operations challenges.

Tom began his career as a U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces officer with multiple combat and operational deployments in leadership and command positions. He holds an A.B. from Harvard University and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

As VP of Finance at Venus Aerospace, Brian Heckler drives financial operations, fundraising, and investor relations supporting the company's mission to revolutionize rocket engine technology. Brian brings extensive experience in capital raising, M&A, strategic planning, and partnership development.

Prior to joining Venus, Brian held leadership roles in corporate development at Sierra Nevada Corporation and Sierra Space — where he was involved in raising $1.4 billion in Series A funding, one of the largest private capital raises in aerospace history. He also helped build out the M&A and venture investment function. He has experience in investment banking, as well as corporate FP&A and strategic finance roles at IBM and Janus Capital Group.

Outside of work, Brian graduated with a Bachelors degree from Colorado State University and an MBA from the University of Colorado Denver.

Dr. Nick Cardwell is the VP of Product & Advanced Research at Venus Aerospace, bringing deep experience across aerospace, energy, biotech, and smart cities. A scientist and engineer with a passion for complex problem-solving, he's held leadership roles at Novartis, Bractlet, and McCord, where he drove innovation across product development and digital infrastructure.

Nick earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Tyler and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, where he received the Paul E. Torgerson Graduate Student Research Excellence Award.

Dave Mahoney serves as Senior Director of Flight Operations and Program Management at Venus Aerospace, where he leads flight test operations, program execution, and mission assurance across the company's high-speed flight programs. He served as project lead for the first high-thrust test flight of a rotating detonation rocket engine in the world. He supported the successful launch of Venus's supersonic-capable drone, overseeing range coordination, logistics, hazard operations, and risk management to ensure a safe and effective flight test.

Dave previously served as Director of Information Technology at Venus, where he helped establish the company's enterprise, engineering, and data infrastructure. Dave previously held leadership roles at Virgin Orbit - managing payload operations, rocket shipments, and launch infrastructure. Dave began his career in the United States Navy, serving as a Surface Warfare Officer, supporting operations with the U.S. Navy's 6th and 7th Fleets. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago.

Aubrey Yates serves as Senior Director of Manufacturing, Integration, and Logistics at Venus Aerospace, bringing over 20 years of experience in aerospace machining and manufacturing. He oversees end-to-end production processes, system integration, and logistics operations, which have been integral to the company's rapid and capital-efficient development of innovative rocket engine technologies. Of note, he holds multiple patents at Venus for critical manufacturing innovations that drive Venus's breakthrough technology.

Aubrey's expertise includes advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing and Directed Energy Deposition (DED) additive manufacturing. Originally from Lubbock, TX, Yates began his career in automotive manufacturing and machining, and he has broad experience in both development and scaled manufacturing, machining, forging and casting, and advanced manufacturing in the automotive, aerospace, and space industries.

Eric Wernimont serves as Senior Director of Engineering at Venus Aerospace, where he leads multidisciplinary engineering teams, sets technical direction, and ensures alignment with Venus's strategic business objectives. He also oversees project execution and contributes to the development of Venus's overall technology roadmap.

A recognized authority on high-concentration hydrogen peroxide systems for propulsion, Eric brings over 35 years of experience working with energetic materials across the aerospace and energy industries. His expertise spans the complete lifecycle of advanced propulsion systems, including design, engineering, analysis, manufacturing, quality control, and project management. Eric also has more than 20 years of hands-on experience in testing high-performance systems under extreme conditions. Throughout his career, he has contributed to the development of solid, hybrid, and liquid rocket systems, as well as innovative applications in the oil and gas sector. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy, in Propulsion, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering and a Master of Science in Aero & Astronautical Engineering and Propulsion from Purdue University.

Aubrey McCravey is Director of Test Operations at Venus Aerospace, where he leads teams of technicians, operators, and engineers responsible for designing, building, and operating ground support equipment to test rotating detonation rocket engines and flight vehicles. Since joining Venus in 2021, he has played a key role in advancing the company's test infrastructure and flight readiness.

Aubrey began his career at Northrop Grumman before joining SpaceX, where he spent six years leading R&D efforts on the SuperDraco escape engine and the Crew Dragon program. Following SpaceX, he served as Manager of Launch Operations, Payload Integration, and Instrumentation at Virgin Orbit, where he led a team of 26 through ground system builds and launch operations. Aubrey also helped establish a payload processing facility and deployed a mobile clean room system to support encapsulated payload delivery to the launch site. Above all though, he cherishes the title of husband and father, as it's the most important job of his life.