I noticed an interesting story about how Gwynne Shotwell, the president of SpaceX, is actually keeping the company balanced ahead of one of the largest IPOs in history. A woman who has been alongside Musk for 25 years is impressive in itself, considering most can't last more than a couple of years in his circle.

Her main job is constantly resolving conflicts. Musk will say something sharp to NASA officials, threaten to cut supplies to the ISS, and Shotwell then spends hours explaining to government people that the company has everything under control and there's no need to panic. Even former NASA administrator Bill Nelson says he trusts her more than many politicians.

What’s interesting is that she’s not just a middle manager. Since 2008, when Musk appointed her president of (, the same year SpaceX received a NASA contract worth $1.6 billion ), Shotwell has effectively managed all operations. Under her leadership, the company launched astronauts from American soil for the first time in 9 years, created Starlink—the largest satellite network in the world, and learned to reuse rocket boosters hundreds of times.

But what’s difficult is that she also defends SpaceX’s intense culture, where young engineers are pushed with complex tasks, and some burn out. When employees complained about harassment issues, Shotwell sided with the company, and several people lost their jobs. People who know her say she definitely knows which battles she can win against Musk and which she cannot.

Now her main challenge is preparing SpaceX for an IPO in 2026. This could be the largest offering in history, with a valuation of $1.5 trillion. The company has entered a silence mode—employees are forbidden to discuss the listing. Shotwell needs to convince investors that Starship (, the two-stage rocket ), is reliable, even though it suffered three failures last year. Plus, the company spent over $20 billion on wireless spectrum, and this needs to be explained to public shareholders.

She manages to keep people in the company—engineers like Mark Hunkosu and Starlink Vice President Lauren Dreyer stay for years. Colleagues say Gwynne Shotwell always intervenes where the company needs help the most. But most importantly, she does it quietly, behind the scenes, without unnecessary noise. This seems to be her main weapon ahead of the IPO.