MG Thomas E. Ayres (Ret.), USA
Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel
Voyager Space
Tom Ayres is the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Voyager Space whose technologies and capabilities are powering the commercial space revolution, and forging the next generation of space infrastructure and technology.
Tom is a retired Army major general, having served over 33 years on active duty in uniform. Tom has extensive litigation experience, and has led large legal teams, to include during multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and later as the Deputy leader of the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
In civilian life, Tom was a CEO and consultant and earlier was selected by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the 20th General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. In that role, he was the Chief Legal and Compliance officer for an organization with an annual operating revenue equivalent to a Fortune 20 company. He also led a team to draft and then implement the legislation creating the Space Force, simultaneously becoming the first General Counsel for the U.S. Space Force.
Tom is a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He began his military career as an airborne rifle platoon leader in Italy, is a master parachutist, and was awarded the Bronze Star three times. He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Law.