Kammy Brun (EXEC MBA 23) : “Aerospace Is Not Just for Men”

Kammy Brun (EXEC MBA 23) has been working in the aerospace industry for 15 years – an industry that is both resolutely forward-looking and lagging far behind when it comes to gender equality. She shares her views on this contradiction in the light of her own experience.

ESSEC Alumni: What is your background in the aerospace industry?

Kammy Brun: I have been in the aerospace industry for 15 years. Previous roles include Consultant at NovaSpace (formerly Euroconsult), Business Development Manager at Airbus Defense & Space, and Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at SkyFi US. I also was Co-Chair of the Women in Aerospace Paris Chapter for 3 years. I am now the founder and CEO of my own consulting company Kalaxie and Managing Director France for Simera Sense, a leading South-African manufacturer of optical space cameras. 

EA: Who are the main players of the industry? 

K. Brun: The value of the space economy is estimated at USD 509 billion in 2023, with North America, Asia and Europe accounting for almost 80% of the business. Companies are mostly B2B, sometimes B2B2C, typically belong to industry, defense, and civil government, and are either large groups such as Airbus, Boeing, Thales, Safran, and SpaceX, or new entrants we call ‘New Space’. Some applications rather cater to commercial customers, such as satellite communications and navigation, others to institutional customers, such as Space Situational Awareness, Space Debris or Space Traffic Management. 

EA: And what are the main trends of the industry nowadays?

K. Brun: The industry has been dominated by hardware manufacturing in the past, but the market has been moving towards ‘as a service’ products over the last decade, with a significant number of applications such as defense and intelligence, environmental protection and anti-deforestation, oceanography and maritime surveillance against illegal fishing, disaster prediction and management, be it earthquakes, floods, or forest fires, agriculture and precision farming, insurance, etc. Space and satellites may seem very remote, but in fact we all use them on a daily basis, as evidenced by the wide popularity of Google Map! 

EA: What is your company's position in this market?

K. Brun: Simera Sense was founded in 2018 with the aim of facilitating access to Earth observation technology by developing standardized, accessible optical payloads for the small satellite market. We have already delivered over 60 Very High Resolution (VHR) cameras, 20 of which are currently operational in orbit.

EA: Your company was founded in South Africa and is now headquartered in Belgium, with subsidiaries in France and the UK. Why these different locations?

K. Brun: First and foremost, South Africa is a relatively small market and has a shortage of skilled labor, which led us to develop our activities in Europe, all the more since more than half of our customers and suppliers are based there, and local investments are huge: the European Space Agency (ESA) only gets €1,171 million from Germany, €1,048 million from France, €448 million from the UK, and €292.6 million from Belgium, to name just a few contributing members. We have chosen the specific countries in which we operate based on various strategic interests. We established our financial holding company in Belgium, which allowed us to raise €15 million from a Luxembourg-based fund. France was the obvious choice for our new production line: the Toulouse region is considered to be one of Europe's leading space centers.

EA: What are the prospects for the aerospace industry in the years ahead?

K. Brun: France has earmarked €1.5 billion to catch up in certain key segments, such as reusable launchers and constellations, while investing in new uses. In this context, many calls for projects have been launched, enabling start-ups to win multi-million euro contracts. In Europe, there are several institutional funding mechanisms, including the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Commission (EC), the European Investment Bank (EIB), which help space companies both to produce and export. 

EA: What about the feminization of this still male-dominated industry?

K. Brun: As a matter of fact, only 10% of the workforce in the aerospace market consists of women, and this figure has not changed much globally over the past decade. If we exclude positions such as marketing, communications, HR, legal, and accounting, this percentage drops to about 3-5%. And women in leadership roles, such as CEOs, founders, and CXOs, represent just 1-3%.

EA: Why is this so?

K. Brun: As in any sector, there are many reasons for this, but the main factor is the confidence gap: studies show that men will apply for a job even if they only meet 60% of the qualifications, while women will only apply if they meet 100% of the qualifications. In addition, the average woman rates her performance at 46%, while the average man rates his at 61%. For more details you can read an article I wrote on that matter on LinkedIn.

EA: What measures could lead towards parity?

K. Brun: First, I encourage everyone to acknowledge the confidence gap – and I urge women to simply try and apply! Many of my contacts dared to go for their dream job after talking to me and they actually got it! Second, we should address diversity issues at a younger age, in high school or earlier, to prevent young girls from mistakenly believing that only Thomas Pesquet can be an astronaut. And, more broadly, to show them that aerospace is not just for men: they can just as much have a career  as a Systems Engineer or a CEO of a space launch company. During my time as Co-Chair of the Women in Aerospace Paris Chapter, we focused on reaching out to younger generations. Third, as much as I believe in women's solidarity, I don’t think we can progress on this front without men. We need mixed groups to achieve true diversity and to foster critical thinking.

EA: Have you experienced any difficulties of your own that are specifically related to the fact that you're a woman?

K. Brun: Not only did I have to assert myself as a young woman – I can't count the number of times I've found myself the only female speaker on an all-male panel and had to fight imposter syndrome – but also as a foreigner, coming from Hong Kong and not always being able to speak French fluently. After all these years, I truly believe that self-development is a crucial factor in how far you can go in your career. One of the most valuable outcomes of my executive MBA at ESSEC was the personal growth I experienced through my leadership classes, my coaching sessions, and my peers. This is why I continue to serve as an ambassador for the program to this day.

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni 

Do you want more content? Join us now so that we can keep bringing you news about the ESSEC network.