Tom Vice is an advisor to Astrion.
Tom brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in the aerospace, defense, and advanced technology sectors. His background includes managing large-scale global operations, executing complex capital raises, supporting the growth of innovation-driven businesses, and overseeing significant government and commercial programs.
Tom most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Space, where he led the company through $1.7 billion in Series A and B capital raises and helped establish what was reported as a $5.3 billion enterprise. During his tenure, Sierra Space secured significant national security and defense contracts, including a $740 million prime contract with the Space Development Agency. Prior to Sierra Space, Tom served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Aerion Corporation, where he partnered with The Boeing Company to develop supersonic civil and defense aircraft..
Earlier in his career, Tom spent more than three decades at Northrop Grumman. He served as President of the Aerospace Systems sector, a global advanced technology business with approximately 23,000 employees, overseeing programs spanning space systems, autonomous aircraft, stealth bombers, missile systems, microelectronics, and cyber platforms. Before that role, he was President of Northrop Grumman’s Technical Services sector, leading a 19,500-person global organization that provided integrated logistics, modernization, defense services, and training solutions across more than 300 locations in 29 countries. He retired from Northrop Grumman in 2017.
Tom brings experience in strategic planning, capital allocation, program execution, regulatory environments, and operational scaling within complex, technology-intensive industries. He has led organizations during periods of top-line growth, international expansion, new business capture, and manufacturing productivity improvements, while managing large workforces and government customer relationships.
Tom has served on the boards of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the USO Board of Governors, the Florida Institute of Technology, Purdue University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Local Motors, and USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. He is the recipient of the Daniel J. Epstein Engineering Management Award from USC and was named a Denver Business Journal Most Admired CEO (2024) and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® (2024). He is also co-author of We Have Liftoff: Envisioning Your Place in the Orbital Age.
Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California and has completed advanced executive programs at MIT, Northwestern University, Caltech, UCLA, and the Defense Acquisition University.