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“Karina Drees”
Stu Witt (center) stands with Congressman Kevin McCarthy, X Prize Chairman Peter Diamandis, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides and others in front of a replica of SpaceShipOne. (Credit: Douglas Messier)
By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
They came to Mojave from near and far — from the dusty desert communities of Lancaster, Boron and Ridgecrest to the snow swept tundra of Sweden — to send Stu Witt off in style. One of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C. played hooky from Congress to wish his friend a happy retirement.
Hundreds of people gathered on Jan. 8 to mark the end of Witt’s nearly 14-year term as CEO and general manager of the Mojave Air and Space Port. The event featured a reception and a long parade of friends and colleagues singing his praises.
Katrina Drees
LANCASTER, Calif. (AVBOT PR) — Karina Drees, who will assume duties as CEO and General Manager of Mojave Air & Space Port in January, will be among regional business and industry leaders to speak at the Antelope Valley Business Outlook Conference on Feb. 26, 2016.
Drees, Deputy General Manager of MASP, has been named to succeed CEO Stu Witt upon his retirement at year end.
Drees, 39, joined the Mojave Air & Spaceport management in July 2012 as director of business development, and was advanced to the post of deputy general manager a year later. She worked with the Mojave Air and Spaceport in 2007 in developing an access-to-space plan for commercial operations of the new space transportation vehicles under development in Mojave.
Prior to joining the Mojave Air and Space Port, Drees had more than 12 years’ experience in strategy and business development, occupying management positions for growing technology companies.
MOJAVE, Calif. — Mojave Air and Space Port Deputy General Manager Karina Drees has been named to replace outgoing General Manager/CEO Stu Witt, who is retiring on Jan 15. The spaceport’s Board of Directors approved the appointment of Drees in a closed session meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Drees, 39, joined the spaceport as director of business development on July 1, 20o12. She was appointed deputy general manager in August 2013. […]
A fitness center could open inside the Mojave Air and Space Port’s Stuart O. Witt Event Center in November if all goes well, officials said on Tuesday. The spaceport’s Board of Directors approved spending up to $60,000 on improvements required to prepare an unfinished portion of the building to host a fitness center. The improvements will include heating, air conditioning, electrical work, lighting, flooring and ceiling insulation. Mojave CEO and […]
By Douglas Messier Parabolic Arc Managing Editor When Karina Drees screened the Mojave Air and Space Port’s new promotional video at the recent SpaceVision 2012 conference in Buffalo, a number of viewers noted something unusual: the almost total lack of animation. The people in Mojave are building real hardware. And flying vehicles. Like..now! Not in like five years’ time. That was a good thing to hear from the college students […]
By Douglas Messier Parabolic Arc Managing Editor NASA Dryden is looking to place one of its employees at the Mojave Air and Space Port for six to 12 months to learn how the private sector space community operates. The placement would be made under a NASA program that details promising employees at companies and other organizations to give them broader business and management expertise, said Mojave spaceport CEO Stu Witt. […]