WASHINGTON – Chris Pearson, former Roccor CEO and Redwire executive vice president, is the new CEO of Durango, Colorado-based propulsion startup Agile Space Industries.
After initially planning to take a break in early 2023, Pearson decided to join Agile because of its “array of talent” and the opportunity to take “novel spacecraft chemical propulsion products to a part of the space industry that has not seen that much innovation during the new space era,” he said by email.
Agile was established in 2019 when Agile Space Propulsion merged with Advanced Mobile Propulsion Test, a company formed in 2009 to offer testing services for commercial and government customers. Agile Additive was created in 2021 after Agile acquired Pittsburgh-based Tronix3D.
Agile is supplying thrusters for robotic lunar landers being built by Astrobotic Technology and ispace.
“A number of high-profile customers have already awarded contracts for different classes of thrusters,” Pearson said. “The first priority is ensuring that we repay that faith with successful deliveries” in the first and second quarters of 2023.
Pearson’s long tenure in the space industry includes work at Airbus and Moog. Pearson also oversaw significant growth of ABSL Space Products’, a lithium-ion battery business prior to its 2011 acquisition by EnerSys, and of Roccor, a small satellite component supplier acquired in 2020 by Redwire.
After the Roccor acquisition, Pearson became Redwire’s executive vice president for critical components, overseeing the space infrastructure company’s divisions in Massachusetts and Luxembourg.
“Chris taking the helm at Agile is a game-changing boost for our team and our customers supporting the rapidly expanding space industry,” Daudi Barnes, Agile founder, president and chief technology officer, said in a statement. “The entire Agile team is excited for Chris to join us, and we are confident that under his leadership, we can scale Agile to be the leading provider of aerospace propulsion systems.”
Pearson succeeds Andrew Thompson, Agile’s CEO since March. Thompson will continue to serve as Agile chief operating officer.
During Thompson’s tenure, Agile raised $9 million in a previously unreported seed funding round led by Caruso Ventures that was completed in October.
