Paul Hill

Paul Sean Hill is a public speaker and executive consultant focusing on universal leadership challenges like risk management, critical thinking, and leading change. His passion is showing how any organization can leverage the core ideas and leadership values from Mission Control whether the goal is to strengthen working level decision making and leadership, actively steward a leadership culture, or deliberately engage executives in strategic decision making and change.Paul was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Director of Mission Operations from 2007 through 2014. He was responsible for all aspects of NASA's manned spaceflight mission planning, flight controller and astronaut training, and Mission Control. Before this, Paul held a number of senior leadership positions including Deputy Manager of the Extravehicular Activity Office, Manager of Shuttle Operations, and Deputy Director of Mission Operations. Paul also served as a Space Shuttle and International Space Station Flight Director from 1996 through 2005, leading the flight control team in flight preparation and execution from Mission Control. He supported 24 missions as a Flight Director with his final assignment as the Lead Shuttle Flight Director for the return-to-flight on STS-114. Paul is recognized as both a technical leader and a seasoned executive. At all levels, Paul is most known for uniting large teams solving complex problems in the most challenging environments. As a Flight Director, that ranged from a key role in planning and leading space station construction in orbit to instrumental leadership in the Columbia accident investigation and returning Shuttle to flight two years later. Before his work with NASA, Paul served in the USAF in military satellite operations. He earned his bachelor and master of science degrees in aerospace engineering, from Texas A&M University in 1984 and 1985 and was a member of the Corps of Cadets.