Risk Takers 2019: Sometimes a risk works. Sometimes it fails. Sometimes it takes years before you know. Sometimes a risk works. Sometimes it fails. Sometimes it takes years before you know. See who else made the list

SpaceX has a booming business launching satellites to space, and 2018 was its busiest year yet. Now the company is pouring money into two audacious investments: a massive constellation of internet satellites and a rocket to Mars.

The projects are the brainchild of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Overseeing the day-to-day operations at SpaceX, however, falls on the shoulders of president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell. Shotwell is charged with turning Musk's bold visions into a sustainable business. She juggles the risk behind the scenes.

Launching rockets is high stakes by nature. Many millions of dollars are on the line each time SpaceX lights up one of its 230-foot-tall launch vehicles to send a payload to space. In 2018, Shotwell oversaw 20 flights of SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. It also debuted a new launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy, which became the world's most powerful operational rocket.

But its largest gambles are ahead.

The company wants to build a massive spaceship and rocket system, called Starship and Super Heavy, that would far outpower anything humankind has ever built. Musk hopes to one day use it to start a human colony on Mars.

Read More