#10 | What Space Teaches Us About Leadership with Berengere Houdou

What does leadership in a complex, technical world have in common with singing in a choir?In this episode of TOP Talks, Sonja Wekema and Lenneke Abelman speak with Bérengère Houdou. Bérengère built her career at the European Space Agency, where she led ESA's Lunar Exploration office before moving into her current role in Clean Space, developing the technologies that will make future moon missions, and the growing number of satellites in Earth's orbit, sustainable. She holds an engineering degree from Supélec and a master's from MIT, and combines deep technical expertise with international leadership across a European institution.The conversation goes far beyond rockets and spacecraft. About growing up in a family of engineers and entrepreneurs, and what nearly losing the family business taught her about stubbornness and faith. About making high-stakes technical decisions with limited data, and learning to trust her gut after years of experience. About why trust between leaders and their teams is what actually makes risk-taking possible. And about a choir in The Hague that has nothing to do with space, and everything to do with commitment, beauty, and effort.In this episodeWhy the "space age" is still in its infancy, and why that is exactly what makes it excitingWhat nearly losing her father's company taught her about stubbornness, faith, and survivalHow she makes decisions on complex missions with only part of the picture, and why that percentage keeps shiftingWhy choosing a rocket engine is as much a question of trust as of engineeringHow the Rosetta mission's imperfect landing became one of its most human momentsWhy failure is rarely celebrated in her field, and why it should beWhat building trust between senior leaders and their teams actually looks like in practiceThe advice she would give her younger self about taking more riskWhy her son's choir taught her something about leadership that space never didA quote from the episode"After a number of years of seeing different projects and different situations, even in technical matters, you are able to feel what is important, what is not, and to feel the direction you should go."About Bérengère HoudouBérengère Houdou built her career at the European Space Agency, leading some of Europe's most ambitious space initiatives, from heading ESA's Lunar Exploration office to her current role in Clean Space, developing technologies for future moon missions while driving the sustainability of space activities in Earth's orbit. She holds an engineering degree from Supélec and a master's degree from MIT. Alongside her work at ESA, she is involved in the Academy of Vocal Art in The Hague, where her son sings, and in the preparations for an international choir festival planned for June 2027.About TOP TalksTOP Talks is the podcast by The Other Perspective. In every episode, Sonja Wekema and Lenneke Abelman talk with leaders, thinkers, and changemakers about leadership, humanity, systemic change, and how we navigate an increasingly complex world. More episodes: TOP TalksLeadership grows in conversation, not in isolation.