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Gerald D. "Gerry" Griffin is a pioneer in human space flight for the U.S. space program. He is the former director of the NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, Deputy Director at the NASA-Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the NASA-Dryden Flight Research Center in California. In the early days of his career, he was lead flight director in Mission Control for three lunar landings during the Apollo program, and was an integral part of the team that helped the astronauts of Apollo 13 safely return to Earth after their oxygen tank exploded on their journey to the moon. His real-life experience during this near disaster caught the attention of Hollywood, and he was hired as technical advisor on the 1995 Universal Pictures' blockbuster, Apollo 13. He has since consulted, and even acted, in two other space-oriented major motion pictures.
After taking an early retirement from NASA in 1986, Griffin shifted his focus and began concentrating on developing a lucrative career in business. He has served as president and chief executive officer of the Greater Houston Chamber of Commerce, as well as managing director for Korn/Ferry International, a worldwide executive search firm. Today, he is a technical and management consultant for a broad range of clients. Griffin also holds high positions with Comarco, Inc., Universities Space Research Association and Bank of the Hills in Kerrville, Texas. In 1999, then Governor George W. Bush appointed him to a six-year term on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Griffin, who was born in 1934 in Athens, Texas
, is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor's
degree in aeronautical engineering. Over the years, he has been awarded
numerous honors from his alma mater and earned an honorary doctorate from
the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He and his wife, Sandy, reside in
Texas. They have two grown children and three grandchildren.