Named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. magazine and described by Newsweek as “the man responsible for more innovations in modern aviation than any living engineer,” Burt Rutan is a bold entrepreneur and designer with the vision and passion for the advancement of technology. TIME magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2006.

Rutan made international headlines in 2004 as the designer of SpaceShipOne, the world’s first privately funded spacecraft. He reached another milestone when SpaceShipOne traveled to space twice in two weeks, winning the $10 million Ansari X Prize, the competition created to spur the development of affordable space tourism.

“Manned space flight is not only for governments to do,” says Rutan. “We proved it can be done by a small company operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated employees. The next 25 years will be a wild ride, one that history will note was done for everyone’s benefit.”
 
Rutan’s vision of private enterprise offering adventure rides into space captured the interest of Virgin’s Richard Branson, who is licensing SpaceShipOne’s technology, and developing commercial spaceships that will soon be flying thousands of people outside the atmosphere.

Two documentaries about SpaceShipOne, which was financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, aired on the Discovery Channel. Rutan was profiled by 60 Minutes and featured on the covers of Life and TIME, which named SpaceShipOne “Invention of the Year.”

Winner of the Presidential Citizen’s Medal and the Lindbergh Award, Rutan is the founder and CEO of Scaled Composites, one of the most aggressive aerospace research companies in the world. Based in Mojave, CA, his company has developed and tested many groundbreaking projects, from military aircraft to executive jets, showcasing some of the most innovative and energy-efficient designs ever.
 

You were the perfect keynote speaker! You set the tone for technical vitality and intellectual curiosity which were our goals for the program. We believe that your outstanding success was due to your combination of entertaining the audience and delivering a message with substance and depth.

University of North Carolina

Rutan designed the legendary Voyager, the first aircraft to circle the world non-stop, without refueling. He also developed the Ultralite, an all-composite 100 mpg show car for GM, and the Proteus “affordable U-2” aircraft. His latest projects include Steve Fossett’s Virgin GlobalFlyer, which broke all the world’s distance records, including those of Voyager.

The success of Scaled Composites owes itself to Rutan’s philosophy that the best ideas come from the collaborative efforts of small, closely-knit project teams and an environment not limited by adversity to risk. Rutan, wrote Aviation Week, is “a capable manager who has been able to attract technicians, pilots and workers who revel in the entrepreneurial and creative spirit existing at Scaled.”

Rutan’s speeches include footage of SpaceShipOne and images of his innovative designs. His visions for the future — including “space travel for the rest of us” will stir the imagination of any audience. Lively and witty, he inspires audiences with his vision on creativity, innovation and managers' tasks to motivate a creative team.