Rachael, please tell me about your role?
I’m Director of the Space business at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. Here in the UK, we’ve got an amazing team of space experts, project managers, software developers and other capabilities across the team, and my role is in supporting them to make sure that, together, we can deliver on our customers’ requirements.
Together, we need to create an environment that enables them to be at their best, to contribute to those requirements, and also establish the space domain as a long-term, sustainable business in the BAE Systems portfolio.
What would you say are the main skills you’re bringing to the table within this role?
It’s such a big and exciting role and I’m very thankful that my journey in BAE Systems has led me to this point. My career history to date has exposed me to many challenges, while my background in mechanical engineering has led to work across the Middle East and Europe for BAE Systems’ defence customers.
This role will now require me to bring together my experiences across regions and disciplines.
What would you say your proudest career moment has been so far?
Oh wow, there has been so many. But the standout experience for me would be my secondment into the Ministry of Defence. It was a really challenging time, bringing different stakeholders together, from civil servants, military officers, BAE Systems colleagues, and industry partners and was an opportunity to experience life outside of BAE Systems without going too far.
It was a big challenge to drive collaboration across that community, but we had a real flagship event at the end of it all where we set up a joint squadron between the Royal Air Force and the Qatar Emiri Air Force. All of that coming together and seeing how my team had contributed to that from an initially tricky position was very rewarding and fulfilling.
You’ve spoken about various challenges there. What key lessons would you say you have taken from overcoming challenges in your career?
I think, often, when we see people in senior positions we presume that their journeys have been quite simple or a straight trajectory to that point. At the start of my career, I even perhaps expected similar due to that perception.
What I’ve learned, though, is that there are lots of twists and turns in that journey. Ups and downs, highs and lows. I would say that in those difficult moments in your career, that’s where you learn the most about yourself. When stretched outside of your comfort zone, that’s where you actually accumulate skills and knowledge and the tools to deal with those difficult situations.
My biggest reflection is that, once you’re exposed more and more to those unsettling times, you become better and better at staying calm, at breaking down big problems into more manageable smaller chunks, and at not being overwhelmed by the scale of new difficulties.
It sounds like great advice not just for people starting out in their careers, but for your team in the space business unit too?
Absolutely. We’ve got some really difficult things to do across a very broad spectrum of engineering, business, customer management, stakeholder challenges, etc. We need to break these down into smaller problems that we can put specific work teams on to; before integrating it and ensuring that the output is greater than the sum of the individual parts.
We’ve got some amazing people within the business unit, so providing that environment and culture for everyone to be at their best, to trust each other, and to recognize the interdependencies that exist, will be crucial. It builds trust, enables us to deliver more effectively, and also means we can hold each other to account. I think higher performance levels are reached when we not only understand what’s expected, but when we can have honest conversations with each other about what we need, why we need it, and when we need it for.
It’s a cool subject of course, but why space? What led you to this vertical specifically?
I joined BAE Systems at 16 and back then I never thought I’d be running a space business. If someone told me back then that this would be the case, I’d have been so excited, but wouldn’t have necessarily believed them!
Really, though, you can’t help but be drawn to the mystique and curiosity of space. I’ve always been drawn to things I don’t fully understand, and space provides such a big opportunity to grow a knowledge base and to explore new solutions.
It’s also a great frontier to bring some of my existing and skills and understanding into. I’m excited to help create a market and create a capability for BAE Systems, and there’s nowhere more exciting to do that than space.
Also, importantly, my niblings think I’m very cool. One of them double-checked whether this means I’m now the boss of satellites and astronauts, I just love how their minds work.
Why is the BAE Systems space mission important to you?
Throughout my career I’ve worked closely with our UK and international defence customers and as we see the world getting more and more uncertain and volatile, BAE Systems has an important role to play in the space domain to support customers and allies. We need to ensure that we continue to protect those who are protecting others, and to contribute to a safe and secure global society.
That global aspect is important. It's a really fun thing to be immersed in space, because it is so unifying. The unit and capability we’re now building will be really important for the long-term security and prosperity of the UK, but also as a vital support function for our customers and allies across the broader ecosystem.
What are some of the immediate deadlines up ahead, and what are you most looking forward to in the future?
Our main focus right now is on the Azalea launch, which will be huge tangible step that we take as a space business unit. Not only will that be a huge milestone off the back of our Digital Intelligence efforts, but I’m excited to then use it as a platform to build a sustainable, high-performing, profitable business arm.
Ultimately, this unit allows everyone working within it to experience really exciting projects and to mould a long-term career. The space domain naturally lends itself to innovation, to building capability, and to creating something significant for the future.