David Ladewig is the Director of Business Development for Manhattan Construction Company where he oversees the strategic growth of the Houston office by identifying new clients/markets and strengthening relationships.

While obtaining his Master’s degree at the University of Houston’s Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture, David worked with an interdisciplinary team to design a conceptual Mars lander and developed an interactive video game of a lunar habitat/infrastructure to be used in a pop-up planetarium show for the Houston Museum of Natural Science. His thesis titled ‘Lunar Real Estate Development’ explored strategies to make a business case for developing the moon.

David was one of nine U.S. students selected to participate in the Stafford-Leonov Student Exchange Program by the Baker Institute Space Policy Program at Rice University where he spent time visiting Russian space facilities and learning how to cooperate with international partners on space-related ventures. His greatest memory of the program was speaking on the phone at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev to cosmonauts onboard the ISS as Space Shuttle Atlantis prepared to dock for its final mission, STS-135. This experience and the relationships formed continue to fuel his passion for space and the need to foster interdisciplinary collaboration with international partners.

David currently serves on the aerospace committees of both the Greater Houston Partnership and Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, including hosting his podcast where he interviews executives, entrepreneurs, and financiers who are pioneering the commercial space industry.

David holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Texas Tech University and a Masters of Space Architecture from the University of Houston.