Mission Nearly Impossible

EREN OZMEN'S Sierra Nevada Corp. fought for years to land the $13 billion contract to build the next nuclear-ready Doomsday planes. Now the billionaire's reputation-and her firm's finances-hinge on whether she can pull off the most difficult maneuver in aerospace: executing a complex, top-secret government project on time and on budget.

- Monica Hunter-Hart

Sierra Nevada Corp.’s chairwoman and co-owner, Eren Ozmen, grins as she dances alone to the pop-funk beat blaring from the ballroom stage of the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. Clapping her hands in front of a 19-foot LED screen to kick off Sierra Nevada’s annual “Leadership Forum,” Ozmen encourages the 300 or so employees in the audience to get up and move on this early April morning.

The song—“Happy,” by Pharrell Williams—matches her mood: Ozmen is almost certain that the aerospace-defense company she bought with her husband, Fatih, back in 1994 will win the U.S. Air Force’s prestigious contract to develop the next Doomsday planes. These are the hardened airborne command posts reserved for top military and political brass in case of nuclear war or other catastrophes, like an asteroid strike.

Sure enough, SNC lands the deal 22 days later, on April 26. Next year’s song? “I’m thinking ‘We Are the Champions,’ ” Ozmen says.