Space Dynamics Lab Names Lance Fife Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory announced today that it has named Lance Fife as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, a newly created executive leadership position established to strengthen coordination and operational execution across the organization.

In the new role, Fife will lead operations across SDL and facilitate program execution with oversight of engineering, information systems, facilities and property, and quality and mission assurance.

“SDL continues to grow in the scope and complexity of the missions we support, and our leadership structure must evolve with that growth,” said Jed Hancock, SDL President. “Lance brings decades of technical, program, and organizational leadership experience to this role. His understanding of our government partners, our people, and our mission will help ensure that we continue to execute with excellence across the Laboratory.”

Fife brings more than 30 years of aerospace and defense industry experience spanning organizational leadership, program management, systems engineering, software development, and business development. Throughout his career, he has supported U.S. Department of War and national security missions.

Prior to his appointment, Fife served as Director of SDL’s Strategic and Military Space Division, where he led approximately 450 employees and oversaw the division’s strategy, workforce, stakeholder engagement, and program execution. The division’s technology portfolio includes missile defense and hypersonics, military space sensors, ground and spacecraft software systems, full life-cycle space missions, and advanced capabilities for sensitive and time-critical missions.

Fife holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from USU.

As part of the leadership transition, SDL has also named Tim McKenzie as Director of its Strategic and Military Space Division, succeeding Fife.

McKenzie has served as SMS Deputy Director since joining SDL in 2019 and has played an important role in the division’s growth and evolution. During that time, he has helped lead strategic initiatives, major programs, infrastructure investment, and partnerships across SDL and USU and with government sponsors. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the national security space, with expertise in program execution, strategy, technology development, and organizational management.

Headquartered at USU’s Innovation Campus in North Logan, UT, SDL is an independent nonprofit corporation owned by USU that solves technical challenges faced by the military, science community, and industry and supports NASA’s vision to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. SDL has field offices in Albuquerque, NM; Chantilly, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; Huntsville, AL; Ogden, UT; and Stafford, VA. For more information, visit sdl.usu.edu.