Transitioning Into a CEO Role Without a Technical Background

It's World Space Week and in this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we're looking at sustainability on the final frontier in an interview with Spire Global CEO Theresa Condor.

Spire Global uses satellites the size of wine bottles to collect data in space that helps solve problems on Earth, ranging from climate to weather forecasting to global security. Theresa says use cases for the company's technology are expanding rapidly as satellite technology advances "at an exponential pace."

"We're seeing something like 10x improvements in technology every five years," she says.

This rapid growth means the need for good governance and sustainability strategies is rising. Spire Global is a member of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) and Theresa explains how the group is focused on sustainability in space through its Astra Carta initiative, which aims to shape a future of responsible and sustainable space exploration, development and cooperation.

"People are trying to figure out what is the right level of regulation that continues to protect the space environment," she says, while also allowing innovation to flourish.

This episode is the latest in our Terra Carta Series of the All Things Sustainable podcast in collaboration with the SMI. The SMI is a network of over 250 global CEOs across finance and industry, including S&P Global. SMI facilitates private sector diplomacy with the ambition of making sustainability the driving force of global markets and value creation. Throughout 2025, we're interviewing SMI member CEOs from around the world and across industries about how they're approaching sustainability challenges and opportunities.

Listen to all the episodes in the Terra Carta Series of the All Things Sustainable podcast: Terra Carta Series | S&P Global

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.

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