This special mini-series, The People Behind the Progress, celebrates the finalists for the UK Space and Satellite Personality of the Year Award – A distinction that honors people whose ideas, integrity, and influence have advanced the UK's role on the global stage. In the first episode of this mini-series, we hear from Dr. Alice Bunn, President of UKspace.

Dr Alice Bunn is a globally recognised leader in science and engineering, with a distinguished career spanning strategic leadership, international diplomacy, and public engagement. Awarded an OBE in the Queen's Honours List in 2022 for her services to the UK space sector, Alice is President of the UKspace Trade Association and has a 25-year career in the space sector where she has held leadership positions in national, European and global contexts. Alice sits on the Advisory Board of Strategy International and acts as strategic advisor to a number of companies spanning the UK and international space sectors.

As former Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, she led a global organisation of over 115,000 members, where she successfully reversed a 15-year financial decline and implemented a transformative strategy focused on societal impact. Previously, Alice served as International Director at the UK Space Agency, where she secured record investments in the European Space Agency and pioneered new approaches to civil space security and infrastructure.

Alice is a passionate advocate for science communication and is a chartered engineer. Alice is regularly called upon as a media expert contributor to all things space and engineering, appearing on BBC, Radio 4, ITN, Sky News and in demand as a speaker at international summits and conferences such as Davos, UN Summits, TEDx and more.

Alice has a PhD in Metallurgy from Darwin College, University of Cambridge, and is also a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Royal Aeronautical Society. As an avid wild swimmer, she proudly sits as the Chair of the Board at SwimTayka, a drowning prevention charity that teaches kids in developing countries to swim.