Ball Aerospace is an innovative, performance-focused aerospace and defense contractor with more than 3,000 employees. The company specializes in high-capability spacecraft, space sensors and instruments, RF and microwave systems, data exploitation for intelligence missions and advanced aerospace components. As chief operating officer of the company – more... from 2001 to his appointment as CEO, Taylor led a strategic refocusing of the company resulting in significantly improved financial and business performance. Ball Aerospace has expanded into new markets over the past six years, ranging from deep space exploration to critical national security missions. This expansion, combined with the strategic refocusing of the organization has produced record sales, profit, backlog and excellent return on investment.
Taylor leads all aspects of the company's performance. As CEO he has instituted a solid business focus, while retaining the strong technical heritage the company is known for. His strategy of preserving the innovative and creative culture while instilling new elements of rigor and accountability required by government agencies has been a central element of his tenure in the position.
Prior to serving as COO, Taylor was vice president of Commercial Space Operations (CSO), a Ball Aerospace business unit chartered with designing and manufacturing remote sensing spacecraft on commercial, fixed-price contracting terms. Initiated in 1995, Taylor's concept for commercial spacecraft production delivers outstanding financial performance and was profitable from its first year of operations. Under his leadership, CSO delivered a number of innovative remote sensing spacecraft buses and imaging systems, including QuikSCAT , delivered in only 11 months and in its sixth year of successful operations for NASA; QuickBird I and II, sub-meter resolution commercial imaging spacecraft. The success of CSO continues with current flight programs such as ICESAT and future flight systems such as Cloudsat; the NPOESS Preparatory Project; and WorldView-1, the next-generation imaging spacecraft for Digital Globe.
Taylor held a number of technical and management positions within Ball Aerospace prior to launching CSO. He was a key technical contributor to numerous programs for the company, including the successful Relay Mirror Experiment (RME), the Optical Aircraft Measurement Program (OAMP), and NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), scheduled for decommissioning in 2005 after more than 20 years on orbit.
For a short time during the 90's, Taylor was employed by Spar Space Systems Division of Montreal, Quebec, Canada in several executive management positions, including Vice President of Marketing and Vice President of the Satellite Systems Business Unit. At Spar, he successfully integrated two existing business units that executed both commercial fixed-price and government cost-reimbursable projects, for missions including EOS-AM, the International Space Station, M-SAT, RADARSAT and Hispasat.
In 2008, Taylor was elected to the Space Foundation Board of directors, the nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing initiatives and educational endeavors that increase awareness of the benefits and importance of space. He also serves on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES). ACCRES provides information, advice, and recommendations to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on issues relating to the U.S. satellite commercial remote sensing industry.
Taylor began his career as a project engineer for Sperry Flight Systems in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Arizona State University and a master's in business administration from the University of Colorado. Taylor also attended the Stanford University Executive Program for High Technology Companies. – less – More from ZoomInfo »
