Maxar Intelligence appoints Dan Smoot as CEO. Photo: Maxar Intelligence

Maxar Intelligence has named Dan Smoot as CEO, after Maxar Technologies recently split into two businesses — Maxar Space Infrastructure and Maxar Intelligence. The satellite imagery-focused company announced the move on Monday, along with a slate of new executive hires. 

Smoot was most recently the CEO of Riverbed Technology, and he is credited with transitioning the IT company from a hardware provider to a software-focused business. He has worked for a number of software and IT companies, including holding senior executive positions at Salesforce, Cisco, and VMWare.

“Over my career, I’ve worked closely with national security and commercial customers to develop unique technology solutions that solve their biggest challenges and drive mission success,” Smoot said. “It is an exciting time for the Maxar Intelligence team to deliver a similar impact through innovative digital solutions that help customers unlock new value from the industry’s most advanced Earth intelligence data.”

Maxar announced last month it was splitting its geospatial intelligence and spacecraft manufacturing businesses into two separate companies. This comes after private equity firm Advent International acquired Maxar in May, taking the company private. Both companies are owned by Advent International and report to the same board. 

Dan Jablonsky, who led the combined company, had been serving as interim CEO of Maxar Intelligence. He will now transition to the board of directors. 

Other new Maxar Intelligence executive hires include CFO Mike Mohn, who has held senior roles at Cisco and Raytheon; General Manager, U.S. Government Susanne Hake, formerly of Palantir Technologies; General Manager, International Government Anders Linder, who worked for Beyond Gravity and Saab; and Chief Product Officer Scott Herman, former CEO of Cognitive Space and CTO of Blacksky. 

Maxar’s COO Jeff Robertson is staying on in the role for Maxar Intelligence. 

Tony Frazier, who led the imagery business at the combined company as executive vice president, is no longer with the company, according to his LinkedIn. 

Chris Johnson, a former Boeing exec who has been with Maxar since April 2021, is leading the manufacturing business. The company also recently rebranded its spacecraft portfolio to commercialize two new spacecraft buses other than its classic 1300 GEO spacecraft.