Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space, talks to employees in front of the company’s Dream Chaser spaceplane on October 30, 2023 in Louisville, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson | Denver Post | Getty Images
Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice has left the company, CNBC confirmed on Monday.
In a statement, Sierra Space said Vice retired on Dec. 31. Chairman Fatih Ozmen will serve as interim CEO, with Eren Ozmen as president.
“After three and half years in the role, Tom Vice has retired as Sierra Space CEO as of the end of 2024 – we thank him for his leadership and wish him well in his retirement,” a Sierra Space spokesperson said in a statement.
Spun out of aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) in 2021, Sierra is one of the most valuable private U.S. companies in the burgeoning space sector, most recently valued at more than $5 billion. But Sierra Space has struggled to launch the first mission of its reusable cargo spaceplane called Dream Chaser, which is key to the company establishing itself as a major player in the industry.
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Vice was named CEO of Sierra Space in 2021, a few months after SNC owners Fatih and Eren Ozmen spun out the company — with investors including General Atlantic, Coatue, BlackRock and AE Industrial Partners. Vice was previously the CEO of Aerion Supersonic, a startup that planned to build high-speed business jets and shut down in April 2021.
The first Dream Chaser vehicle was supposed to debut by 2021. But even last year, the spaceplane named “Tenacity” was not ready when United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, its ride to space, needed to launch.
Dream Chaser has won NASA contracts to fly seven cargo missions to and from the International Space Station. Sierra Space said Tenacity is targeting a launch no earlier than May.
The company has continued to develop its inflatable space station technology, as well as expand into a product line of satellite buses after winning a high-profile $740 million Pentagon contract last year.
Sierra Space saw layoffs during Vice’s tenure, as well as turnover in a number of senior executive roles. But Vice spoke repeatedly last year of Sierra Space’s plan to go public, outlining a tentative path to IPO as soon as late 2025.
