Mara Ellison

Mara Ellison is the founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Kalour Defense & Intelligence. A U.S. Air Force veteran, engineer, and hands-on technical leader, she brings three decades of experience advancing science and technology for Department of War and Intelligence Community missions.

Mara began her career in the U.S. Air Force, where she oversaw foreign weapon-system exploitation and technical efforts spanning aircraft, submarines, vessels, and airships. She later served as lead technical SETA on multiple research programs, helping develop advanced algorithms, sensor-processing systems, and machine-learning methods for analyzing electromagnetic signals and characterizing target-system responses.

She founded Kalour Defense & Intelligence in 2012 around a straightforward idea: exceptional people should be able to solve consequential national-security problems with technical rigor, personal ownership, and less bureaucracy.

In addition to leading Kalour’s corporate strategy and operations, Mara remains closely involved in technical direction, infrastructure, business strategy, and the development of new mission capabilities.