KENT, WA: Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, has hired Starbucks and Boeing veteran Linda Mills as its first head of communications.
"Over 20 years, I’ve realized that every job and every life experience has prepared me for what I’m about to start: I’ve just been appointed the very first head of communications for Blue Origin," Mills said on LinkedIn. "I will have the honor and privilege of telling the amazing story of Jeff Bezos’ multigenerational vision of millions of people living and working in space."
Bezos founded the space-travel company in 2000. Last May, he unveiled designs for a moon lander and ultra-ambitious plans for trillions of people living in space colonies. Blue Origin is privately funded; Bezos said in 2017 that he would sell $1 billion in Amazon stock a year to finance the company, according to The New York Times.
Previously, Mills was VP of communications for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, which she joined in early 2018. The company replaced her with Conrad Chun, former VP of communications for Boeing Global Services, late last year amid its struggles to get the 737 Max back in the air after two deadly crashes. Anne Toulouse resigned as Boeing’s SVP of communications at the end of last year and was replaced by Neil Golightly, former chief communications officer of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Mills has also served as VP of global communications at Starbucks and a VP at WE Communications. She was a member of PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 list in 2015.
