Donald L. Thoma

Executive Vice President, Aireon

Donald L. Thoma has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Aireon, since July 2026. Mr. Thoma has served as Chief Executive Officer of Aireon since founding the company in 2011 as a joint venture between Iridium Communications and several of the leading air navigation service providers. Aireon LLC, operator of the world’s only space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) air traffic surveillance system, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Iridium in July 2026. Prior to Aireon, Mr. Thoma served as Executive Vice President of Marketing at Iridium from 2001 to 2012, during which time he led corporate communications, strategic positioning of products and services, and corporate initiatives related to the company’s next-generation satellite constellation. Earlier in his career, Mr. Thoma held executive positions in sales, marketing, business development, and engineering at ObjectVideo, Inc, ORBCOMM, and Orbital Sciences Corporation, and served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force Space Division.

Mr. Thoma currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the global trade association of the air traffic control organizations, and on the Board of Directors of the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), representing companies involved in building and operating the US air traffic control system. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.