Hélène Huby

Hélène Huby is the Founder and CEO of The Exploration Company (TEC), a European aerospace company building a global space transportation platform. Founded in 2021, TEC has become the fastest-growing space company in Europe with $2 billion in contracts signed, $350 million raised from tier-1 investors, 475+ people, and a unique position as the only company apart from SpaceX to develop both a reusable capsule and a reusable heavy launcher. Headquartered in Munich with operations across Europe and the United States, TEC has built its platform with European roots at its core, with the European Space Agency as anchor client for its first missions.

Huby served as an executive at Airbus Defence & Space and ArianeGroup in both operational and strategic roles, from Head of Innovation to Vice President of the Orion European Service Module programme. She joined the Airbus Group in 2013. Before that, she worked at faberNovel in Germany and began her career at the French Ministry for Research and Higher Education as Deputy Head of the Department for European Affairs.

Huby is the Founder and Chair of Urania Ventures, a deep tech investment company, and of The Karman Project, a non-profit foundation that fosters dialogue and cooperation between those who shape the future of space. She is a Young Leader of the French-American Foundation and of the France-China Foundation. In 2023, she was awarded the French National Order of Merit (Chevalier) for her services to European aerospace. She received the Monte-Carlo Woman of the Year Award in 2025 and the Kiel Institute's Global Economy Prize in the business category the same year.