Charlie McGillis

Founder & CEO, 2 Polaris & Beyond

Charlie McGillis is a dynamic senior executive who has more than 30 years of defense and executive leadership experience. She is the Founder & CEO of 2 Polaris & Beyond, LLC, who works with clients and partners worldwide on strategy, business development and engagement in the public & private sector, with emphasis on the national security space mission area to accelerate impact to this world and beyond. She is the Vice President, Public Sector at The Provenance Chain Network and previously served as the Senior Vice President of Government Relations & Strategy at Slingshot Aerospace.

Her broad defense career spanned a wide variety of C-suite leadership positions. In her last assignment in the United States Air Force, she served as the Director of Intelligence at Fourteenth Air Force (Space) where she led all intelligence for Air Force space forces to provide tailored, responsive, local, and global space effects in support of national and combatant commander objectives. In other assignments, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff at USSTRATCOM, Deputy Political Advisor at USSOCOM, and Deputy Director of the Commander’s Action Group at NORAD-USNORTHCOM. She commanded at the squadron level at Air Command and Staff College where she led a multiservice and multinational unit. Following retirement in 2014, she served as a Commercial Integration Cell Consultant, representing seven Commercial Satellite Operators to facilitate better coordination and information sharing with the United States Government.

Ms. McGillis received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is also a graduate of three post graduate studies: Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict from the Naval Postgraduate School, Military Arts and Sciences from the United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies, and Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Air Force Air War College. Ms. McGillis is a defense operations and intelligence subject matter expert and speaks frequently at conferences about advancing space sustainability, security, and safety. She was recognized as one of the Top 30 Space Executives to Watch in 2021. She is an Advisor on the Independent Review Board for the Department of Commerce and a mentor to space start-ups with the Creative Destructive Lab. She is co-lead for the International Academy of Astronautics Committee on Space Traffic Management Conference and is a member of the Commission 5 on Space Policy, Law and Economy. She is a champion for STEM initiatives for girls as a member of AstraFemina and teaches at two summer camps sponsored by American Association of University Women. She was also selected into the first cohort to support the SpaceHero Insider Program, a global community to advance space for humankind.