Colonel ELLIOTT J. LEIGH Col. Elliott J. Leigh is the Director of AFWERX and the Chief Commercialization Officer for the Department of the Air Force. He leads the strategy and execution of approximately $1.4 billion per year across the Air Force and Space Force through AFVentures, Spark, Prime, SpaceWERX, the Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Col. Leigh entered the Air Force in 2002 as a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served in numerous test and evaluation and program management roles, including Chief of the B-21 Raider developmental test program, and most recently as a Materiel Leader for the Special Programs Directorate in the U.S. Space Force, where he led the execution of a critical $2 billion space control program. Col. Leigh is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the Army Command and General Staff College. EDUCATION 2002 Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado 2004 Master of Science, Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio 2008 Master of Science, Flight Test Engineering, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California 2009 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama 2011 Air Command and Staff College (Correspondence) 2016 U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, Kansas ASSIGNMENTS August 2002 - August 2003, Target Systems Engineer, 81st Test Support Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Florida August 2003 - August 2004, Asst. Flight Commander, Operations Plans, 81st Test Support Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Florida August 2004 - May 2006, Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio May 2006 - June 2007, F-16 Armament Engineer, 775th Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, California June 2007 - July 2008, Student, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California July 2008 - June 2009, Flight Test Engineer, 46th Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida June 2009 - June 2011, Flight Commander, Sensors and Defensive Systems, 46th Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida June 2011 - March 2012, Assistant Director of Operations, 46th Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida March 2012 - June 2013, Senior Engineer, Advanced Programs, Special Programs Division, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio October 2013 - April 2014, Fixed and Rotary Wing Commodity Manager, Foreign Military Sales Branch, Security Assistance Office - Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan June 2013 - June 2015, Program Manager, Technology Integration, Special Programs Division, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio June 2015 - June 2016, Student, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, Kansas June 2016 - May 2018, Chief Developmental Tester, B-21 Raider, AF Rapid Capabilities Office, Washington, D.C. May 2018 - August 2022, Materiel Leader, Advanced Programs, Special Programs Directorate, Los Angeles AFB, California August 2022 - December 2022, Military Deputy, AFWERX, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio December 2022 - present, Director of AFWERX, Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Department of the Air Force Chief Commercialization Officer, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Bronze Star Medal Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster Air and Space Commendation Medal Afghanistan Campaign Medal Air and Space Expeditionary Service Medal EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION Second Lieutenant May 29, 2002 First Lieutenant May 29, 2004 Captain May 29, 2006 Major Mar 1, 2012 Lieutenant Colonel Dec 1, 2016 Colonel Apr 1, 2022 (Current as of DECEMBER 2022)