Chad Anderson (entrepreneur)

Chad Anderson
Anderson in the November 2014 issue of SpaceNews
Nationality	American
Education	University of Oxford and Seattle University
Occupation	Managing Director of Space Angels Network
Home town	Seattle, Washington

Chad C. Anderson (born 20 June 1980) is an American entrepreneur and innovation expert, best known for his work in the emerging private space industry. He is Managing Director of Space Angels Network and Business Innovation Manager at the Satellite Applications Catapult.^[1]

Education

Anderson holds an MBA degree from the University of Oxford as well as Finance and Economics undergraduate degrees from Seattle University, magna cum laude.^[2][3]

Career

Chad Anderson is Managing Director of Space Angels Network, a professionally managed global network of seed‐ and early‐stage investors focused specifically on aerospace ventures.^[4] Under Anderson's leadership, the network has grown from 20 to 50 investor members, in nine countries, on four continents.^[1] Anderson also works as Business Innovation Manager for the Satellite Applications Catapult, a UK government funded non-profit organization focused on accelerating the growth of the UK space industry, located at the UK Space Gateway in Harwell Oxford, UK.^[5] While attending Oxford, Anderson served as Business Advisor to Astrobotic Technology, a commercial lunar transportation startup and leading contender for the Google Lunar X Prize, the race to put the first commercially funded spacecraft on the Moon.^[1] Prior to graduate school, Anderson worked as Director of Finance for Aeris Direct LLC, a Seattle-based aviation startup aimed at making private jet travel more convenient and affordable. Anderson was also previously Business Manager for JPMorgan Chase in Seattle where he managed a $50 billion real estate portfolio through the Great Recession.^[4]

In the media

Publications

In 2013, Anderson published “Rethinking Public-Private Space Travel” in Volume 29 of Space Policy Journal, in which he discusses how novel new methods of public-private partnerships are enabling the development of the private space industry.^[6][7]

Anderson is also a thought leader in the economics of off-world mining and spaceports. During his MBA studies at Oxford University, and while serving as Business Advisor to Astrobotic, Chad produced the first-ever market assessment for commercial lunar services, in which he estimates the current and forecasted demand through 2020.^[8] In August 2014, Anderson supervised a feasibility study for a UK spaceport, which demonstrated that a domestic spaceport would enable lower cost access to space and create economic benefit far beyond its perimeter fence, delivering £2.5 billion and 8,000 jobs to the broader UK economy over 10 years.^[9][10]

Anderson is a frequent contributor to NewSpace Global’s Monthly Market Tracking Report - Thruster, where he writes about early-stage investing in private space companies. In his first article, "The Science of Rocket Investing” in June 2013,^[11] Anderson explains how a growing number of pioneer investors are willing to assume risk which is outside the threshold of a typical early-stage investor because they seek blended returns, and in doing so position themselves to earn outsized financial returns. In October 2013, Anderson wrote about the opportunities for young entrepreneurs to lead the NewSpace industry forward.^[12]

In June 2013, Anderson wrote an article in The Renegade Times about the development of space entrepreneurship in the UK.^[13][14]

Anderson also contributes regularly to the Space Angels Network website with posts including "Space Investing: The Power of Two Bottom Lines"^[15] and "Response to Unfounded Criticism of Virgin Galactic"^[16] among others.

Speaking appearances

December 2013, on the day that SpaceX launched its first geostationary satellite SES-8, Anderson was interviewed on BBC World News with Jon Sopel alongside Sir Richard Branson about the growing commercial space sector.^[17]

December 2014, Anderson appeared on Al Jazeera America's show Real Money, in a one-hour special that focused on the emerging space economy. Anderson spoke with the host, Ali Velshi about the risks and opportunities in early-stage space investing.^[18]

At the Innovate UK 2014 conference in London, Anderson participated on a panel with the former President of Virgin Galactic to discuss the opportunities for investing in private space ventures.^[19]

On September 2014, Anderson was featured in a live chat, titled "Fueling the New Space Race" on Pushtribe about his unique experience in the space industry and the conditions and trends within the private space industry that are leading to a new space race.^[20]

At the UK SEDS National Student Space Conference 2014 at Leicester University, Anderson gave a presentation titled "Space: Open for Business", in which he spoke about why there has never been a better time to build a space startup.^[21]

Anderson addressed the audience at the International Space Commerce Summit in London, and spoke from the investors' point of view, highlighting the need for a pragmatic approach to space entrepreneurship, as in other industries.^[22]

As part of "Perspectives on Space Enterprise", an event put on by the British Interplanetary Society at the World Museum in Liverpool, Anderson spoke about how low cost access to space will enable entrepreneurs to launch new small satellite businesses.^[23]

At Startup Grind: Stockholm, Anderson participated on a panel with Christer Fuglesang, Sven Grahn, Karin Nilsdotter, and Rikard Steiber. There he spoke about how the private space industry is broader than one might presume and listed eight verticals of investor interest including: satellites, launch providers, human spaceflight, microgravity research, habitats & real estate, in-space services, space resources, and space energy.^[24]

On November 2014, at the Reinventing Space Conference in London, Anderson was on a panel with the Director of Policy for the UKSA to discuss the initiative to develop a UK spaceport by 2018.^[25]

Print

In the November 2014 issue of SpaceNews Anderson was the featured profile, where he spoke about his role in the space industry.^[26]

In the November 2014 edition of Thruster, a Monthly Market Tracking Report for the NewSpace industry, NewSpace Global featured Anderson in the Future Stars section in an article titled "In the Thick of it: Space Angels Network's and Catapult UK's Chad Anderson". In this article Anderson discussed his career, assessed the changing investment climate for space ventures, and envisioned space investment opportunities in the next five to 10 years.^[27]

On October 13, 2014, Anderson was quoted, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist^[28] Hiroko Tabuchi in the New York Times, explaining the importance of finding near-term revenue sources to support science-based business plans.^[29] In the same month, Anderson was quoted in Entrepreneur Magazine about how quickly things are progressing in the private space sector, in an article featuring the adventurers taking on the final frontier.^[30]

In December 2013, Anderson was featured in a Space.com article speaking about the huge indirect economic benefits generated by the Apollo Era.^[31]

Social Innovation

Anderson has a track record of volunteering and social entrepreneurship, earning recognition from both the President of the United States with the President's Volunteer Service Award and JPMorgan Chase as Volunteer of the Year for his work supporting the marketing and development efforts of Seattle Children's Theatre.^[32] When Anderson initially enrolled in Oxford University to obtain a master's degree in business administration, his focus was on social entrepreneurship.^[1] He served as Chairman of the Oxford Business Network on Social Impact, a group of over 200 students using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.^[33] Anderson also served for two years on the Board of Directors for Greenside Development Foundation, a 501(c) non-profit organization focused on youth entrepreneurship and business incubation in Morocco.^[34][35]

Personal life

Anderson lives in London, United Kingdom.^[1]

References