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Will Whitehorn | |
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![]() Will Whitehorn and Richard Branson at the nose of SpaceShipTwo in 2010 | |
Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University | |
Assumed office 2021 | |
Preceded by | David Eustace |
Personal details | |
Born | 1960 (age 63–64) Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
Education | Edinburgh Academy |
Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
Profession | Business executive |
William Elliott Whitehorn (born 1960) is a British business executive. Until December 2010 he was President of Virgin Galactic, [1] a company which plans to offer space tourism flights to the paying public. [2] He was formerly the President of the industry group, UKspace, and has been Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University since 2021. [3]
Whitehorn was born in Edinburgh, Scotland along with siblings Donald, Edward and Katherine. He attended Edinburgh Academy and Aberdeen University. [2] He was an air cadet in his teenage years. [4]
Whitehorn's early career was as a crewman on North Sea helicopters and also with the Thomas Cook travel agency. In 1987, Whitehorn joined Virgin Group after being talent-spotted by Sir Richard Branson, after he had suggested a number of ideas to Virgin the previous year. He rose to become the head of Virgin's public affairs department.[ when?] In that role, where he was effectively the official spokesperson for the company, he was sometimes characterized as Branson's "right-hand man". [2]
From 2007 to 2011 he was president of Virgin's space program, Virgin Galactic, [5] but left owing to the relocation of the testing area.[ citation needed] Since 2011 he has been a non-executive director of Stagecoach Group, where he was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2016, and he has the same roles at Good Energy. [5]
Whitehorn was Chairman of the Transport Systems Catapult project from 2013 to 2016, [6] [7] and President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK for 2016–17. [8]
![]() |
Will Whitehorn | |
---|---|
![]() Will Whitehorn and Richard Branson at the nose of SpaceShipTwo in 2010 | |
Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University | |
Assumed office 2021 | |
Preceded by | David Eustace |
Personal details | |
Born | 1960 (age 63–64) Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
Education | Edinburgh Academy |
Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
Profession | Business executive |
William Elliott Whitehorn (born 1960) is a British business executive. Until December 2010 he was President of Virgin Galactic, [1] a company which plans to offer space tourism flights to the paying public. [2] He was formerly the President of the industry group, UKspace, and has been Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University since 2021. [3]
Whitehorn was born in Edinburgh, Scotland along with siblings Donald, Edward and Katherine. He attended Edinburgh Academy and Aberdeen University. [2] He was an air cadet in his teenage years. [4]
Whitehorn's early career was as a crewman on North Sea helicopters and also with the Thomas Cook travel agency. In 1987, Whitehorn joined Virgin Group after being talent-spotted by Sir Richard Branson, after he had suggested a number of ideas to Virgin the previous year. He rose to become the head of Virgin's public affairs department.[ when?] In that role, where he was effectively the official spokesperson for the company, he was sometimes characterized as Branson's "right-hand man". [2]
From 2007 to 2011 he was president of Virgin's space program, Virgin Galactic, [5] but left owing to the relocation of the testing area.[ citation needed] Since 2011 he has been a non-executive director of Stagecoach Group, where he was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2016, and he has the same roles at Good Energy. [5]
Whitehorn was Chairman of the Transport Systems Catapult project from 2013 to 2016, [6] [7] and President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK for 2016–17. [8]