Ken Sunshine is joining Richard Branson's Virgin Group as the first Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Virgin Galactic, which is planning to send tourists to space in its own crafts in the coming years.

Mr. Sunshine will be in charge of looking after the company’s financial strategy, driving growth and overseeing all finance and accounting functions. He has worked as CFO of the National Institute of Aerospace, CFO of Aurora Flight Sciences, Senior Vice President of Finance at Orbital Science Corporation, and as an engineer at Draper Laboratories.

He holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and an engineering degree from Tufts University.

Virgin Galactic President and CEO George Whitesides said: "We are delighted that Ken has agreed to join the company as our first Chief Financial Officer as we transition toward commercial operations.”

He also said that Mr. Sunshine will bring with him his experience in the space business including strategic planning, raising capital in capital markets as well as M&A’s.