International Business Leader, Leonardo A. Rodriguez, Joins the SpaceFund Board of Directors

As the fund continues to expand, Leo’s expertise will help not only SpaceFund, but its broad portfolio of space companies as well.

January 30, 2024 | Houston, TX.  SpaceFund, Inc., a world-leading space venture capital firm, is thrilled to announce that internationally respected business leader Leonardo (Leo) A. Rodriguez has joined its Board of Directors to help drive growth at SpaceFund and its 21 portfolio companies. Mr. Rodriguez began this role in early January and is already contributing significantly to the fund’s operations and fundraising.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Leo join our board of directors,” said Dan Schatzman, SpaceFund CEO, and Board Chairman. “His extensive business experience in high-growth technology companies will help significantly in taking the fund to the next level as well as helping portfolio companies to successful exits.”

As Leo has been acting in an advisory function for the company’s board of directors for the past several years, he is already familiar with the portfolio of companies and is well-known by the team. He brings a wealth of knowledge in international markets, specifically related to mission-critical process automation. In his storied career, Mr. Rodriguez has positively impacted multiple industries such as oil and gas, power, chemicals, metals and mining, pulp and paper, and pharmaceuticals. He retired from Emerson in 2018 as chairman and CEO of Emerson Latin America, where he managed operations exceeding several billion dollars per year.

“There are very few projects that I would consider coming out of retirement for, and SpaceFund is that opportunity,” said Leo Rodriguez. “I’m constantly amazed by the quality of the team, their fascinating portfolio of space companies, and the rapid and reliable growth of this cutting-edge industry. I’m excited to meaningfully contribute to the future of SpaceFund and the wider space industry.”

Following a 40-year career with Emerson, Leo joined Jaguar Precision Machine as an equity partner. Jaguar is an advanced precision machining enterprise serving the commercial space industry, national security, and defense customers. During his time at Jaguar, he realized the massive business potential of the growing space economy and how his skillsets in operations, capital markets, and cutting-edge technology could be applied to this nascent sector.

“Leo is the missing piece that we needed to round out our board of directors,” said SpaceFund managing partner, Meagan Crawford. “With Mr. Rodriguez’s experience in capital markets, we now have a versatile and highly experienced board that is perfectly positioned to help SpaceFund, and our portfolio succeed.”

Leo graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology, where he received his Bachelor of Engineering Degree with concentrations in Metallurgy and Materials Science. His formal business studies were conducted at Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business. Leo was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, arriving in the United States in 1960 and becoming a naturalized United States citizen in 1970. Leo is also a citizen of Spain.

About SpaceFund

SpaceFund is a world-leading space venture capital firm, investing across the space startup ecosystem in sectors such as launch, private space stations, satellite components, satellite servicing, in-space manufacturing, AI and ML software for space applications, and others. SpaceFund works closely with the world’s largest space customer, the US government, with a specialty in co-investing with the government agencies that provide these startups with non-dilutive funding. SpaceFund has raised two successful funds and was founded in 2018 by Rick Tumlinson and Meagan Crawford. SpaceFund has made 21 investments across the space industry. To learn more about the venture fund and its portfolio, please visit: https://spacefund.com/

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