Commitment to Excellence, Safety and Mission-Focused Solutions
The aerospace industry plays a fundamental role in advancing national security and nurturing technological innovation. It spans a broad spectrum, from defense to commercial aviation, driving advancements in aircraft design, production and cutting-edge digital systems. The sector is essential in addressing global defense needs, providing agile and high-performance solutions to meet the increasing demands of nations facing evolving security threats. Aerospace companies are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation to stay ahead in a highly competitive and ever-changing environment.
Greg Ulmer, the president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, has built a distinguished career centered on responsibility, service and leadership. Ulmer’s work is driven by a deep commitment to the mission of supporting those who serve the nation and its global allies. His leadership philosophy is rooted in servant leadership principles, highlighting transparency, accountability and inclusivity. Ulmer has been a catalyst for innovation, particularly through digital transformation, and he is known for his ability to align teams and resources to deliver on critical missions.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics stands at the forefront of the aerospace and defense industry, advancing technologies that strengthen national security. With a portfolio that includes 5th-generation fighter aircraft, advanced air mobility systems, and cutting-edge autonomous systems the company is committed to delivering integrated, high-quality solutions. Through ongoing initiatives in digital transformation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics continues to build on its legacy of innovation, collaboration and operational excellence, ensuring it meets the evolving needs of its global customers.
Let’s delve in to learn more:
A Legacy of Service and Aviation Passion
Ulmer attributes much of his success to the strong influence of his family. His father served in the U.S. Navy, and both of his parents worked full-time while attending college to support the family. This upbringing instilled in him a deep sense of responsibility, commitment to others and dedication to both community and country.
His passion for aviation is central to his professional life, and he views supporting those who serve the nation and its global allies as a paramount mission. He is also driven by a pioneering spirit and a desire to explore new opportunities. This drive for growth and learning has led him to take on new challenges and responsibilities throughout his career.
A Commitment to Servant Leadership and Excellence
Ulmer developed a servant leadership mentality shaped by his upbringing and the example set by his parents. He believes in the importance of transparency, accountability and providing positive experiences that align with Lockheed Martin’s core values. These values focus on creating an environment and culture where employees can thrive and contribute their best work. He sees a natural alignment between his leadership philosophy and Lockheed Martin’s principles: doing what is right, respecting others and performing with excellence. He believes that achieving the company’s mission to advance critical technologies and deliver high-quality solutions for customers requires the collective effort of all employees.
He also believes that every individual’s distinct background, skills and perspectives are essential to the team’s success. At Lockheed Martin, fostering a culture that values and leverages the unique strengths of each employee is crucial to driving innovation, enhancing business performance and strengthening global deterrence.
Driving Innovation through People and Digital Transformation
Ulmer attributes the company’s cutting-edge advancements to two main factors: digital transformation and the dedication of its people, particularly their strong connection to customers’ missions.
He acknowledges that none of the company’s achievements would be possible without employees who are committed to supporting national defense. The organization is fortunate to employ many of the industry’s best and brightest, whose spirit of innovation inspires him daily. This culture of innovation largely stems from the Skunk Works®, a division of Lockheed Martin that is central to the company’s operations. With an 80-year track record of developing aircraft systems that push the boundaries of what is possible, including building the first U.S. fighter jet, the Skunk Works® has a reputation for solving hard problems through small, empowered teams, streamlined processes and attempting to do things that haven’t been done before.
Ulmer also highlights the ongoing transformation across the business to deliver the speed, agility and insights necessary to stay ahead of emerging threats. The 1LMX program, which is the company’s mission-driven business and digital transformation initiative, is transforming end-to-end business processes and systems. It is also building a model-based enterprise with a fully integrated digital thread that spans the entire design, build and sustainment lifecycle, which will reduce costs and accelerate capabilities. Through new innovations and partnerships, the company is accelerating 21st Century Security® capabilities to support national security missions.
Driving Innovation through Digital Transformation and Mission Focus
Innovation is central to how Lockheed Martin addresses the challenges its customers face. At the enterprise level, the 1LMX transformation is a clear reflection of the company’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. This approach enables the company to deliver the capability, agility and insights needed to stay ahead of emerging threats. The team is dedicated to transformation and making the necessary investments to provide innovative solutions that meet customers’ requirements.
A Commitment to Safety, Quality and Innovation
Ulmer prioritizes safety across the organization, highlighting its importance throughout the year and in all activities. The company’s global customers depend on Lockheed Martin for high-quality products and systems to complete their missions and return home safely. This can only be achieved through a culture that prioritizes the safety of both the team and the products they create, which ultimately ensures the safety of the customers. The team operates with a “Safety First, Quality Always” mindset, and this principle is embedded in multiple initiatives and areas of focus.
A few key elements of this focus include:
- Each team member plays a critical role in safety, and collective commitment is essential for success. The company promotes a “see something, say something” mentality, encouraging employees to speak up when something seems off.
- A newly established Safety Management System proactively identifies hazards and assesses risks associated with products and services, with the goal of preventing aviation incidents or accidents.
The company continuously monitors industry best practices and applies lessons learned to maintain a strong safety culture. Ulmer often reminds his team that, in some cases, it is important to “go slow to go fast.” Innovation will continue to support the mission needs of customers, but maintaining a focus on performance, safety and quality remains paramount. Building and sustaining a culture where safety is prioritized has always been a key focus for him.
Meeting Customer Demands with Agility and Innovation
Ulmer highlights the shift in customer expectations, noting that the traditional adage of “faster, better or cheaper” no longer applies in the aerospace sector. Customers are increasingly challenging this dynamic with tighter budgets, compressed timelines, and more complex operational demands. In response, adaptability and agility have become key differentiators. Lockheed Martin is implementing artificial intelligence (AI) to not only achieve decisive system effects but also to drive business efficiencies. AI is enhancing performance across various areas, from rapid product testing during development to fully autonomous platforms executing collaborative missions. The company’s 1LMX initiatives are also designed to enable faster, better and more affordable solutions—delivering all three to customers.
As the aerospace sector adapts, Ulmer stresses the importance of maintaining a strong focus on performance, quality and safety. These elements remain foundational, as customers rely on Lockheed Martin’s products—both commercial and defense—to work flawlessly every time. The company is placing renewed importance on robust program management and supply chain resiliency. Executing commitments across products and the value chain is essential, especially as the industry shifts toward integrated mission solutions where systems must work together in a coordinated, interdependent manner.
This is Driving Innovation and Excellence Across Key Programs crucial for building and maintaining customer confidence as they adapt their purchasing strategies. Meeting these commitments on time while prioritizing safety and quality is a top priority.
In addition, Lockheed Martin is applying anti-fragility measures, including implementing a model-based digital thread with suppliers, executing more robust strategic sourcing plans to address challenging commodities, and strengthening small and medium-sized businesses to ensure a resilient and agile global industrial base.
Key Attributes for Engineering and Leadership Success
Ulmer stresses the importance of value stream thinking and collaboration, where engineers and leaders focus on optimizing the entire value stream by eliminating waste, reducing lead time, increasing customer value, and promoting cross-functional teamwork to drive sustainable, long-term improvements.
He also highlights the need for global awareness as aerospace work increasingly spans international borders. Engineers and leaders must understand cultural differences, international market trends, and global regulations to operate effectively in this expanded environment.
A growth mindset is another key attribute, underlining the necessity for engineers and leaders to remain committed to continuous learning and to think creatively as technology and the industry progress. This includes developing technical expertise in foundational engineering while staying informed about emerging technologies like AI and machine learning.
From a leadership standpoint, Ulmer believes that transparency with respect, accountability, compassion and a strong commitment to both the business and mission are essential for success.
Driven by Mission, People and Continuous Learning
Ulmer is motivated daily by the people and mission of his work. Throughout his career, he has found pride in collaborating with dedicated individuals to strengthen national defense and global security. Regardless of his role, he has remained focused on ensuring that the products, services and technologies delivered to global customers are reliable, capable and dependable, providing deterrence and the necessary capabilities for dominance and success. He takes great pride in each product and service the company develops, produces and sustains, whether it be the C-130J, U-2, F-35, F-16, F-22, C-5, P-3, or Skunk Works® programs — all of which are iconic in their own right. However, it is the people, the Lockheed Martin team, that he finds most inspiring. He is honored to work with talented individuals, past, present and future, who provide the military and its allies with robust and resilient products and tools necessary for preserving freedoms.
With a pioneering spirit and a commitment to serving others, he values spending time outdoors, focusing on family, community, and fishing. His passion for continual learning drives him to think differently, and he often reads books to further his intellectual growth. Currently, he is reading several books: The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Eric Larson; Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz; and Hidden Potential by Adam Grant.
Delivering Integrated Solutions through Collaboration and Innovation
Listening to customers, anticipating their needs, and staying committed to transformation and innovation to deliver critical, integrated mission solutions are front and center for Lockheed Martin.
This will be accomplished through continued, purposeful collaboration and partnership with global customers, as well as close cooperation with partners and suppliers. Ulmer is confident that if everyone is aligned and working together, the company will continue to deliver technologies and systems that strengthen deterrence for both the nation and its allies.
Driving Innovation and Excellence Across Key Programs
Gregory M. Ulmer is the president of the Aeronautics business area in Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Aeronautics business, which is a more than $25 billion enterprise employing approximately 35,000 people. The Aeronautics team is focused on ensuring America and its allies maintain air dominance. The portfolio features 5th Generation tactical aircraft; air mobility; uncrewed and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, including the F-35, F-22, F-16 and C-130; and the Advanced Development Programs (ADP) organization, informally known as the Skunk Works®.
Previously, Ulmer was the vice president and general manager of the F-35 Lightning II program. In this capacity, he was responsible for leading all areas of the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft program, including development, production, sustainment and modernization.
He previously served as Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ vice president of the F-35 Aircraft Production business unit. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of global F-35 production and delivery, including program management, production operations, supply chain management, quality, affordability, tooling and manufacturing rate readiness, and customer engagement.
He also previously served as the vice president of operations for the Skunk Works. In this role, he was responsible for ADP operations undertaken by more than 3,000 employees across multiple Aeronautics sites, overseeing the F-22 Raptor Modification Line, U-2 Dragon Lady Periodic Depot Maintenance, F-35 Lightning II subassembly work and ADP Special Programs.
Throughout his career, Ulmer has led several critical initiatives for Lockheed Martin as the C-5 vice president and program manager responsible for the overall operations and leadership of the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program and the Avionics Modernization Program; C-130 deputy program manager for operations; C-130 air vehicle director; deputy chief engineer and Flight Test integrated product team senior manager; and other roles. Ulmer began his career as a flight test engineer supporting the MD-11, C-17 and C-130J programs from first flight through certification for all three aircraft.
Ulmer is a member of the National Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together, the Board of Directors for the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership and a fellow in the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, where he received a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering, and he holds an executive master’s degree in business management with an emphasis on aerospace from the University of Tennessee.
