Atle Wøllo, Kongsberg NanoAvionics CEO. Photo: NanoAvionics

Kongsberg NanoAvionics has appointed Atle Wøllo as its new CEO, the company announced Monday. This comes two years after the Norwegian defense firm acquired NanoAvionics, a company that began as a spin-off from Lithuania’s Vilnius University and became a leading small satellite manufacturer. 

Wøllo is a former Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace executive and was previously senior vice president special programs, and was president of the Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services division. 

He replaces Žilvinas Kvedaravičius, who became interim CEO last year, following the departure of co-founder and former CEO Vytenis J. Buzas in 2023. Kvedaravičius had been with the company for eight years. 

Wøllo said in a news release that the company plans to capture more of the global market share in commercial constellations and government missions. 

“This is a fantastic time to join NanoAvionics, one of the prime smallsat manufacturers and mission operators in Europe,” Wøllo said. “Their track record of successful and sophisticated missions as well as their outstanding customer list speaks for themselves. As we are entering the next evolution of the space industry with Space 3.0 and a strategic focus on mission longevity, performance, reliability, and interoperability, we intend to capture more of the global market share.”