This week, Australia named space engineer and astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg as the 2026 Australian of the Year, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s a powerful moment to see our country celebrating a woman who has excelled in STEM and who dares to dream beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Katherine became the first person to qualify as an astronaut under the Australian flag when she graduated from the European Space Agency’s program in 2024. That means she’s now eligible to be the first Australian to participate in a space mission under our own banner. Her achievement is a landmark not just for the space community, but for anyone who has ever imagined doing something that’s never been done before.
In her acceptance speech (which I highly recommend watching), Katherine spoke about the overview effect - a profound shift in perspective many astronauts experience when they view Earth from space:
“You can’t see borders from up there, just a fragile shared home and a powerful truth - we’re all in this together. Because space is not about escaping the earth, but about helping us see it more clearly.”
That landed deeply for me. As a longtime member of Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronaut program, I’ve spent years reflecting on what it might mean to experience that same perspective shift.
When Sir Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic, one of his core ambitions was to democratize access to space - and to the overview effect. He imagined what could happen if not only scientists and engineers, but also entrepreneurs, writers, artists, and changemakers could view Earth from above. What might we do differently when we come back down?
When I eventually take that journey, it won’t look like Katherine’s - hers will be a high-stakes mission with scientific purpose. Mine will be a day trip, a pause for perspective. But I know the experience will still unlock something big. Because that’s what new perspectives do: they reframe what’s possible.
And that brings me to another quote from Katherine’s speech that struck a chord:
“What I want to do is show people the power of a dream when you put in the effort to make it happen. I encourage people to back themselves in hard things, in technical pursuits, for the love of ideas, because you want to solve a problem, because it’s a challenge and then imagine what we can do with that courage to aspire.”
That’s the spirit of Ready to Rise. It’s not about finding shortcuts. It’s about making the conscious decision to pursue the difficult path because it leads to deeper fulfillment, greater impact, and expanded possibility.
As you move through your own journey - whether you’re scaling a business, navigating board leadership, or pushing the boundaries of your industry - I encourage you to ask yourself: What’s the dream I’m backing right now? And what would happen if I chose the challenge instead of the comfort zone?
Congratulations, Katherine. And thank you for reminding us what’s possible when vision meets courage.
Here’s to the year ahead, and to always aspiring higher.
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