The Honorable Stephanie L. O’Sullivan was elected chair of The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) Board of Trustees, effective June 11. Retired U.S. Air Force General Paul J. Selva will serve as vice chair, replacing O’Sullivan in this role. The Honorable Jim Bridenstine, former NASA administrator, also joined the board effective June 8, along with the Honorable David Norquist, former Deputy Secretary of Defense, will begin his term on September 8.
“Stephanie and Paul bring extensive knowledge of our customers’ needs to the board, and they provide insight into how Aerospace can deliver solutions to those needs that work across the space enterprise,” said Steve Isakowitz, Aerospace president and CEO. “I’m thrilled for them to take on these new roles, and I look forward to their continued stewardship at Aerospace.”
O’Sullivan was elected to the board in June 2017 and elected vice chair in December of 2019. She has served the Intelligence Community throughout her career, most recently as principal deputy director of National Intelligence in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). She also served as the associate deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), working with the director and deputy director in the overall leadership of the agency and day-to-day management of the organization. Prior to this role, O’Sullivan led the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T) – the part of the agency responsible for developing and deploying innovative technology in support of intelligence collection and analysis.
Selva joined Aerospace’s board in December of 2019 after retiring from his position as the 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he had been the nation’s second-highest-ranking military officer. Prior to this assignment, he served as commander of United States Transportation Command, responsible for overseeing all global air, land, and sea transportation systems for the entire Department of Defense (DoD). Selva’s distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force spanned 39 years and numerous positions in staff, leadership, and command in nearly every operational tier of the Air Force.
Regarding Bridenstine and Norquist, Isakowitz said, “I’m also excited to welcome Jim and David to our board. Each is a highly respected leader in his own right, and together they deepen Aerospace’s expertise across both the national security and civil sectors as we work to integrate and strengthen activities across all space sectors.”
Under Bridenstine’s leadership, NASA launched its new human lunar exploration mission, the Artemis Program. He managed the continued commercial resupply of the International Space Station and led agency efforts to partner with American businesses on the Commercial Crew Program. Additionally, Bridenstine established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program to partner with private enterprise in landing rovers on the lunar surface. Previous to NASA, Bridenstine served as the United States Representative for Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district, from January 3, 2013, to April 23, 2018.
Norquist was the deputy secretary of defense from 2019 until earlier this year. In this role, he was responsible for the day-to-day business operations of the Defense Department, managing the Pentagon’s budget as well as overseeing efforts to reform the military’s acquisition and accounting practices. Prior to this position, he served as undersecretary of defense CFO and, while the Senate considered the nomination of current Secretary Lloyd Austin, Norquist served as acting secretary of defense.