Alek Derejian

Alek is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Rocket Lab in New Zealand and manages a number of cross-functional teams spanning development, testing, and production.

Prior to this role, Alek served as the Director of the Propulsion Test Complex leading the team charged with component testing, engine assembly, engine testing, stage testing, and R&D for the Rutherford and Curie engines.

Before joining Rocket Lab, Alek spent 19 years at Rolls-Royce Plc specializing in Civil and Defence Gas turbines, design, manufacture, and testing. He was responsible for setting up two engineering centers in Bangalore, India as well as establishing the Enterprise Risk Management framework for R-R across North-East Asia covering technical, business, financial, and political risk and business continuity management for the company’s operations across the region.