Draper Names Julia Laurenzano MacDonough Vice President and General Manager, Air Force and Missile Defense Strategic Systems
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 29, 2025 – Draper has named Julia Laurenzano MacDonough its Vice President and General Manager for Air Force and Missile Defense Strategic Systems. In this role, McDonough oversees the research, development, and production programs that Draper performs for the U.S. Air Force and Missile Defense Agency, including ballistic missile guidance systems, missile defense systems, and navigation and control systems for air-breathing hypersonic missiles.
MacDonough reports to Draper’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jerry M. Wohletz, Ph.D., and serves on the company’s executive team. She succeeds Frank Serna, who is retiring after 22 years of leadership at Draper.
“Julia brings a wealth of experience successfully managing research and product development teams in the space and defense sectors,” said Wohletz. “Her programmatic knowledge and customer insight will be tremendously valuable as Draper continues to invest, innovate, and grow in support of its U.S. national security missions.”
MacDonough has worked in the military and civil space, aerospace, and defense sectors where she specialized in remote sensing, electronic warfare, and satellite communications serving government and commercial customers, including NASA, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community.
Julia Laurenzano MacDonough joined Draper in 2023 as Vice President and General Manager for Space Systems, where she was responsible for the business unit’s mission impact and growth. Prior to Draper, she worked at BAE Systems, where she was product line director in the company’s FAST Labs™ research and development organization.
As a U.S. Air Force officer, MacDonough provided technical and programmatic leadership for Department of Defense ground system and remote sensing acquisitions. She was also a physicist in what is now the Air Force Research Labs and served in operations and acquisitions roles with the National Reconnaissance Office.
McDonough holds a M.S. degree in remote sensing and imaging science from the Rochester Institute of Technology and B.S. degrees in physics and history from Duke University.
Released January 29, 2025
