Griff Russell brings over 25 years of industry experience having held leadership positions with Northrop Grumman, Orbital Sciences, Space Exploration Technologies, and Millennium Space Systems. With Orbital Sciences, he served as Product Manager for Fin Actuator and Thrust Vector Control Systems used on multiple launch vehicles and was also a Systems I&T manager for the Patriot Target Vehicle serving as pad chief engineer for its successful initial launch in February 2010. As the first internal SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle manager from 2010-2016, he managed 19 different Falcon 9 vehicles also implementing a Flight Systems Integration team which ran all I&T operations directly leading to the first successful landing of a recoverable first stage in 2015. With Millennium Space Systems, he was responsible for the ALTAIR Pathfinder spacecraft establishing a new product line for the company and served as Phase A Spacecraft Program Manager for the NASA Explorers TRACERS program awarded in 2019.

He founded Gryphon Effect, LLC in 2019 which has provided program and systems engineering management services for emerging space technologies and advanced space mission concepts. It has served multiple innovative New Space companies and functioned in Mission level Program Management roles for NASA Explorers Science missions. He is a member of the External Advisory Board for the Georgia Tech Space Research Institute and is currently a Vice President of W-Series Reentry Vehicles for Varda Space Industries.

Griff holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honors from Washington and Lee University, is a former Academic All America NCAA Division III football player, a NAUI/PADI certified SCUBA diver for 35+ years and an FAA Certified Private Pilot.