United Launch Alliance Chief Tory Bruno Resigns, Interim CEO Named

United Launch Alliance said on December 22, 2025 that Tory Bruno resigned effective immediately to pursue another opportunity, ending nearly 12 years at the helm of the Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture. The board named John Elbon as interim chief executive and said it would begin a search for a permanent successor.

The joint statement from ULA board chairs Robert Lightfoot for Lockheed Martin and Kay Sears for Boeing praised Bruno’s service and confirmed the single line the company supplied as his reason for departure, that he had left to pursue another opportunity. The board added that it had the greatest confidence in John to continue strengthening ULA’s momentum while the board proceeds with finding the next leader of ULA.

The leadership changes also elevated Mark Peller to chief operating officer. The board highlighted Peller and Elbon together, saying their careers in aerospace and launch expertise would be an asset to ULA and its customers, especially for achieving key upcoming Vulcan milestones.

Bruno, who was hired in 2014, guided ULA through a period of dramatic industry shift. Under his stewardship the company moved away from Russian supplied propulsion used on the Atlas family toward a domestically built solution, and partnered with Blue Origin on core engines for the new Vulcan Centaur. The Vulcan program reached a major milestone when the rocket made its first flight in 2024, placing the vehicle into service after years of development.

In public comments on X.com following his departure Bruno thanked Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Space and wrote, It has been a great privilege to lead ULA through its transformation and to bring Vulcan into service, and My work here is now complete and I will be cheering ULA on.

Bruno’s tenure included notable achievements, but also operational and competitive challenges. Industry reporting has cited struggles to ramp up the new rocket’s launch cadence after Vulcan’s debut, and ULA’s share of the increasingly contested U.S. launch market declined as SpaceX won a growing slate of government contracts. The company remains a provider to both commercial clients and government missions, and has continued work for customers including Blue Origin’s Project Kuiper.

Company operations remain centered at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, and the board emphasized continuity even as it initiated a leadership search. The announcement did not connect Bruno’s departure to any internal investigation or board action, and ULA has not disclosed the nature of the opportunity he intends to pursue. The board also did not provide a timetable for selecting a permanent CEO.

The resignation was described by industry observers as unexpected. Speculation in recent years about a potential sale of ULA by its Boeing and Lockheed Martin owners did not lead to a transaction, and the board’s statement reiterated a focus on executing the Vulcan program and serving national and commercial customers while leadership transitions.