Axiom Space names new CEO

BOSTON — Commercial space infrastructure developer Axiom Space has named its chief revenue officer, Tejpaul Bhatia, as its new chief executive.

Axiom announced April 25 that it promoted Bhatia, who had been chief revenue officer of the company since 2021, to the CEO post. He succeeds Kam Ghaffarian, co-founder and executive chairman of the company.

Ghaffarian, who will remain executive chairman, stepped into the CEO role last August on an interim basis when Michael Suffredini, who has been chief executive for eight years, stepped down and joined the company’s board. Suffredini said personal reasons led him to step down as CEO.

Ghaffarian cited Bhatia’s work as chief revenue officer at Axiom as a key reason to make him CEO. Axiom noted in a statement that Bhatia secured more than $1 billion in contracts since joining Axiom, including overseeing the company’s series of private astronaut missions to the International Space Station.

“Axiom Space was founded to expand the boundaries of what’s possible in space, and Tej has been instrumental in turning that vision into a reality,” Ghaffarian said in a statement. “His blend of entrepreneurial drive, global perspective and deep commitment to our mission will ensure Axiom Space’s leadership at the forefront of the rapidly growing commercial space market.”

Bhatia came to Axiom from Google, where he was involved in its cloud computing business. He earlier founded and led several startups and worked on ESPN’s video streaming business.

“I’ve been inspired by space exploration since childhood, and leading Axiom Space at this critical inflection point in human spaceflight is the realization of a lifelong ambition,” said Bhatia in the company statement.

Besides its series of private astronaut missions, the fourth of which is slated to launch as soon as May, the company is developing a private space station. It also has a contract from NASA to develop spacesuits astronaut will wear on Artemis lunar missions. Earlier this month, Axiom announced plans for fly orbital data centers on satellites being build by Kepler Communications, a step towards long-term plans for larger data centers that will leverage the company’s space station technology.