Firefly Aerospace, a provider of economical launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services and a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners, has added Dan Fermon as chief operating officer.

Fernon has served as interim COO since May 2022 and will be based in the company’s corporate headquarters in Cedar Park, Texas. Prior to joining Firefly, Fernon was a vice president at AEI, where he was also a member of the firm’s portfolio strategy and optimization group. Previously, he served as the profits & loss and operations leader for GE Aerospace‘s global component repair team, doubling revenue in three years to over $3 billion.

“Having spent the last five months with the team, I have been impressed with their passion, commitment to continual learning, and drive to excellence,” says Fermon. “I’m looking forward to helping scale these efforts to support the team’s transition into full-rate production on all our vehicles, facilities, and capabilities in the years ahead.”