A pair of proven winners headlined the annual Bellevue Chamber of Commerce Eastside Leadership Conference on June 26 at Redmond’s Microsoft Conference Center.

The speakers included Hall of Fame astronaut George “Pinky” Wilson and former Blue Angel John Foley, both of whom reached elite status in their respective professions – which already personify excellence.

Nelson participated in three shuttle missions and became one of four space-shuttle astronauts to ever fly the manned maneuvering unit, a Russian-made propulsion backpack that moves through space like a floating La-Z-Boy. He was also a member of the first spacewalking team to repair a satellite in orbit.

Foley is a former lead solo pilot for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. He has three graduate degrees – including one from the Stanford Graduate School of Business – and experience working within the inner circle of a venture capital company.

The theme of the leadership conference was “Innovate to Win,” and both men brought their passions and experiences to the discussion.

Nelson opened the event with tales of space travel and went on to discuss the importance of math and science in education, saying it would take innovation in those fields to solve modern problems like global climate change.

“We have these huge challenges, and we have to learn our way out of them,” he said.

Nelson also pushed exploration, saying there’s nothing that gets a better return on investment.

“I would much rather give $100 million to bunch of engineers than a bunch of bankers,” he said.

Foley closed out the event with a high-energy talk involving pilot stories and tips on improving performance – something he had to do time and again while learning precision flying with the Blue Angels.

He also shared anecdotes about overcoming doubts and failures – like his initial rejection by the U.S. Naval Academy and getting grounded several times as a pilot.

Foley told audience members that they should strive to rise above even the top one percent in their fields.