Setting Sights on Outer Space
Raleigh Wooldridge (MMM '25) shares how Northwestern's MBA + MS Design Innovation (MMM) program prepared him for an internship at Blue Origin.
Raleigh Wooldridge (MMM '25) has always been passionate about pushing the boundaries of space and flight.
Wooldridge grew up in Houston, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center. As a kid he was drawn to the history of space exploration, particularly NASA's Apollo program and International Space Station missions.
That fascination with aerospace remains to this day.
"I believe we are on the verge of a great leap forward in human presence in space, such as returning to the moon and sending more satellites to space to benefit humans on Earth," he said. "Every day I wake up to companies doing things previously thought impossible — true science fiction — and I want to be a part of that story."
Last summer, he got that wish.
Wooldridge spent the summer interning on the corporate development team at human spaceflight company Blue Origin. The company builds reusable rocket engines, launch vehicles, in-space systems, and lunar landers. In April, it successfully flew its 11th human space flight.
In corporate development, Wooldridge helped develop strategies for how the company can partner and acquire new capabilities to advance its programs and missions.
"If there is a new market opportunity or challenge in space for our company," he said, "our team helps think about how to build, buy, or partner to achieve this objective."
He worked on the company's Blue Moon lunar lander, the New Glenn next-generation rocket, and space vehicle Blue Ring. Wooldridge helped identify new opportunities to augment Blue Origin's products and capabilities to better serve the customer.
To do that, Wooldridge relied on lessons he learned in Northwestern's MBA + MS Design Innovation (MMM) program — a dual-degree program between Northwestern Engineering and the Kellogg School of Management.
Wooldridge was initially drawn to MMM because of the program's focus on human-centered design. He saw a clear connection between that skill set and Blue Origin's larger mission.
"From the outside, the space industry can often be perceived as exploring distant planets and stars, but through my MMM education, I have gained an appreciation for solving problems for humans," he said. "I believe that Blue Origin's focus on benefiting humanity on Earth through space exploration is unique and inspiring."
Wooldridge appreciated how practical the MMM curriculum is. Each class taught him to consider real-life business problems and identify solutions for those challenges.
"We do not read a 10-page case with established templates," he said. "We are forced to research through uncertainty, identify the problem, solve for a solution, and develop our own path forward."
When Wooldridge applied to MMM, he knew his path forward would likely not align with many of his future classmates. Prior to Northwestern, he worked as a strategy consultant focused on aerospace, defense, and government services.
Despite his narrow niche, Wooldridge has enjoyed learning from his fellow students and seeing the commonalities across different industries.
"While the products in satellite Earth observation and consumer packaged goods may differ greatly, there are often commonalities across things like the industries' business models and go-to-market strategies," he said. "Hearing different perspectives from other industry backgrounds can force you to test your own assumptions and learn from others' best practices."
That lesson, along with the emphasis on human-centered design, ultimately helped Wooldridge have a successful internship experience. With his eyes set on space, he said MMM helped keep his attention on the people who matter most.
"The MMM program prepared me to stay focused on our customers' problems first," he said. "While developing strategies and evaluating partnerships and merger and acquisition opportunities, MMM helped me center on identifying capabilities that can solve customer needs, not just novel technologies."