Enrico Palermo Appointed COO of Virgin Galactic

Mojave, Calif., January 15, 2020-- Virgin Galactic Holdings has announced the appointment of Enrico Palermo as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately. In this newly created role, Palermo will be responsible for helping maintain efficiency and peak performance across the enterprise as it develops as a public company, and will lead the execution of specific company strategies and initiatives.

Palermo currently serves as President of The Spaceship Company (TSC), the wholly-owned aerospace manufacturing and development subsidiary of VG. In this role, He leads over 500 employees at the company’s facilities in Mojave, California. He joined Virgin Galactic in 2006 as one of its first employees. He will maintain his capacity of TSC President.

Commenting on the new appointment, George Whitesides, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic, said: “Enrico is perfectly suited to become our first Chief Operating Officer. His deep knowledge of the organization, built over 13 years with the company, enables him to hit the ground running on enterprise-wide goals. Over the years, Enrico has shown dedication to Virgin Galactic’s mission and has been an inseparable part of our success. On behalf of our Board, I am delighted to welcome Enrico as our new COO.”

Palermo commented: “I am honored to accept this new role and continue to serve our amazing team. In late 2008, as the flight test program for VMS Eve was starting, I relocated with my family to Mojave from London to establish TSC, and I am truly inspired by what we have achieved so far. Taking on this new position at an exciting point in the company’s history is incredibly important to me and I look forward to making human spaceflight more accessible to all.”