Kay Sears
Vice President and General Manager, Military Space
Lockheed Martin
Kay Sears is the Vice President and General Manager of the Military Space line of business within Lockheed Martin Space. In this role, Kay is responsible for critical national security space programs and mission areas including global navigation satellite systems, space-based missile warning, protected communications, space protection and operations, logistics and sustainment for various customers including the Department of Defense.
Previously, Kay was the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development where she was credited with growing the Space business with a comprehensive strategy to develop new markets and expand core mission areas. She also led strategic planning, advanced program development and new business efforts for each of Space’s lines of business.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Kay served as president of Intelsat General. As president, Kay implemented the company’s strategic and operational plans and was responsible for their mission to provide a range of sustainable, cost-effective and secure communication solutions to government and commercial customers. Before that, she helped launch the government services business units at both G2 Satellite Solutions and Verestar.
With three decades of experience, Kay is a respected leader in the aerospace and defense industry. Kay is passionate about building effective partnerships with her customers, which was sparked by her experience providing space services to warfighters while she was on the operations side of the business. She believes it will take true partnership between industry and government to defeat our adversaries. Kay prides herself on finding common ground and priorities to partner in trusting and long-lasting relationships, and she has done so time and time again throughout her career.
Notably, Kay was appointed to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee in 2009 to provide information, technical expertise, advice and guidance regarding issues that may affect national security telecommunications capabilities.
In 2014, Kay was honored with the National Defense Industrial Association’s Peter B. Teets Award, which recognizes leaders of notable influence who have made significant contributions to strengthening our national security through space capabilities or technology.
Kay has a bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from the University of Richmond and an MBA in Information Systems from George Washington University.