The Monaco Women Forum has once again shone a spotlight on extraordinary women shaping the future, awarding its prestigious Woman of the Year 2025 prize to two pioneers in the field of space exploration during a glittering dinner ceremony in the Principality…
The main award was presented on Friday March 21st to French entrepreneur Hélène Huby, co-founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, which designs reusable space capsules. Under her leadership, the start-up has become the fastest-growing space company in Europe, signing €800 million in contracts and expanding from four to 250 employees in just over three years. Now operating across France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the US, and the UAE, the company has already launched one capsule and will launch another this June. Accepting the prize with humility, Huby emphasized it as a recognition of her entire team’s achievement in promoting international cooperation and innovation in the space sector.
A special lifetime achievement award was also presented to Amalia Ercoli Finzi, an 87-year-old Italian aerospace engineer whose career spans nearly six decades. As the first Italian woman to earn an engineering degree in aeronautics, she has been a trailblazer in planetary science, notably contributing to humanity’s understanding of comets. Her emotional speech touched on the vital role of curiosity in scientific advancement and the importance of continued exploration.
Held under the patronage of the Monaco Women Forum, the evening served as a powerful reminder of the impact women are making in traditionally male-dominated fields. Both honourees were applauded not only for their accomplishments, but also for inspiring the next generation of innovators to reach for the stars.
Image: Monaco Info
