Firefly Aerospace hires former KeyW chief exec

Startup launch vehicle maker Firefly Aerospace has hired a new chief executive in Bill Weber, the former CEO of KeyW Corp. whose appointment is effective immediately.

Weber joins Firefly in the same year that the government market investment firm AE Industrial Partners acquired majority ownership of the company to support its push for growth in national security space programs.

As KeyW's CEO, Weber led that defense and space technology integrator through a transformation that included a re-focusing on those core customer markets. That led to KeyW's acquisition by Jacobs in 2019 for $815 million.

"Bill is a proven leader with an impressive record of helping companies successfully navigate change, making him the clear choice to lead Firefly during this transitional growth period," AEI Peter Schumacher said in a release Thursday. "His deep experience and strong relationships across many areas of the A&D landscape will be invaluable as Firefly transitions to full-rate production across its portfolio of products."

Weber is also the founder and CEO of First Light Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company focused on identifying and merging with a technology company that has existing applications in both government and commercial markets.