Management Team

Since its inception in 2013, Nobu has grown Astroscale from a single person to an international group, established a global footprint in six countries, and raised over USD $383 million.

As a highly respected and influential figure in the space industry, Nobu holds several key positions, including member of the International Academy of Astronautics and Space Generation Advisory Council Advisory Board, and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Nobu was the International Astronautical Federation’s Vice President for Space Economy and Sponsorship until 2023 and co-chair of the World Economic Forum Council Global Future Council on Space Technologies until 2021, where he played a key role in developing the concept of a Space Sustainability Rating, a system designed to ensure long-term sustainability by encouraging responsible behavior among countries and companies participating in space.

Since founding Astroscale, Nobu has received numerous awards and accolades, including 2023 IAF's Excellence in Industry Award (SME), 2022 Prime Minister’s Award, 2022 TIME100 Most Influential Companies, 2021 Satellite Technology of the Year, 2020 SpaceNews Company Leader of the Year, 2020 UNESCO Netexplo Innovation Forum Grand Prix, Forbes JAPAN “Start-up of The Year 2019”, and World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer in 2017.

Prior to Astroscale, Nobu was an IT entrepreneur and strategy consultant, and had managed IT companies in Japan, China, India and Singapore. He led one company to a successful IPO. Before joining the IT industry, he worked for McKinsey & Company and the Japanese Government in the Ministry of Finance.

Nobu earned his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Tokyo in 1995 and an MBA from the Krannert School of Business, Purdue University in 2001.

Chris joined Astroscale as Group COO in August 2017 and leads the global strategic development for the company.

Prior to Astroscale, Chris served as the NASA Attaché for Asia, the senior space policy official in the U.S. Embassy Tokyo, from 2012-2017. In that capacity he identified multiple opportunities for cooperation in the region; served as strategic space advisor to the US Ambassador to Japan and senior US Government officials; acted as an official intermediary between NASA and its partners in Asia in negotiating agreements and resolving disputes; and participated in numerous outreach events highlighting NASA activities.

Chris began working for NASA as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2003. While at NASA he was a leader in forging international cooperative partnerships around the world in the fields of Earth science, space science and human space exploration. From 2005- 2007 Chris was the Executive Director of the NASA Advisory Council, which provided advice to senior NASA officials on future policies and plans.

Chris received a BA in History and Education from the University of Richmond (Va.) in 1995 and an MA in International Relations from the University of Rhode Island in 2002. In 2009 Chris earned an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Mike joined Astroscale as CTO in January 2020 and is responsible for driving the technical strategy and shaping future mission architecture, taking into account current and future Astroscale markets and customers.

Mike has over 12 years’ experience in the commercial and government space industry. Prior to joining Astroscale, Mike was Director, Spectrum Architecture at OneWeb, where he oversaw mission design, systems engineering and spacecraft performance, taking into consideration regulatory compliance and spectrum management. Prior to OneWeb, Mike held mission design and systems engineering roles at NASA and Google, where he developed and worked on novel and low-cost missions such as the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission.

Mike holds a Master’s degree in Space Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Gene joined Astroscale in November of 2019 as Chief Engineer. In this role he leads an engineering team with staff in Japan, the UK and the US and is responsible for ensuring high quality aerospace engineering practices are followed across all company programs.

Gene has over 25 years of experience in technology management in the commercial space industry. Prior to joining Astroscale, Gene was vice president of the space segment group at ORBCOMM where he oversaw the development, test, launch, in-orbit checkout, and on-orbit operations of a constellation of small communication satellites from multiple manufacturers. Before ORBCOMM, he was a senior principal systems engineer at Orbital Sciences Corp working on the design, test, and deployment of several small commercial LEO and GEO satellites and launch vehicles.

Gene received his MSc in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Washington and a BSc in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University. He also received an MSc in Space Studies from the International Space University.

Nobuhiro was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Astroscale Holdings Inc. in December 2021 to lead the financial function of the company.

Nobuhiro joins Astroscale with over 12 years' experience in global finance and banking. His expertise includes areas such as financial strategy, capital markets and risk management.

Prior to joining Astroscale, he held a number of key positions in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs in Tokyo and New York over the course of seven years. In these roles, he successfully advised numerous global companies on strategic transactions including debt, equity and M&A. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, he also acted as an investor, leading the sourcing and execution of multiple principal investments into Japanese startup companies.

Nobuhiro graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology with an B.Eng. in Civil Engineering.

Kaoru joined Astroscale as General Counsel in November 2022 to lead the company’s global legal strategies and functions.

Prior to joining Astroscale, Kaoru served as Senior Corporate Counsel at NortonLifeLock Japan (now Gen Technologies), a consumer cyber security company, where she advised on all legal matters in Japan. This included contracts, regulatory/compliance, policies, personnel matters, marketing campaigns, and deliverables.

Prior to Norton LifeLock, Kaoru was a Managing Associate at Linklaters Tokyo, advising clients on a wide range of cross-border capital markets transactions. Her experiences range from IPOs, convertible bonds and other debt and equity products to Japan’s first green bonds and blockchain bond offerings to overseas investors. She was also seconded to a fintech company, Revolut Japan, as their first Japan counsel, advising on regulatory matters for official product launches to the Japanese market. She was trained at Allen & Overy’s Tokyo office, where she became qualified as Solicitor of England and Wales, primarily through banking transactions.

Prior to pursuing her legal career, Kaoru spent five years as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and received a Bachelor of Law from Sophia University and M.Phil. in International Studies from the University of Cambridge.

Nick was appointed Managing Director of the UK office, in June 2022. Nick brings more than 30 years of experience in the space sector to Astroscale Ltd., working as the current Chair of the IOSM Working Group, and formerly the Chair of UKspace, the trade association of the UK space industry and VP of Strategic Programmes at Inmarsat.

Prior to joining Astroscale, Nick delivered significant business growth and results whilst performing senior management, engineering and sales roles at Inmarsat, CGI, Logica and at the UK MOD Defense Research Agency.

In addition, he serves as a Councillor of the Royal Aeronautical Society where he is also a Fellow. Nick is educated to MBA level and holds an MSc in Spacecraft Technology & Satellite Communications from University College London.

Ron joined Astroscale U.S. as President and Managing Director in April 2019 to lead the company’s business operations in the United States.

Ron brings over 30 years of government and industry experience, encompassing systems engineering, program management, sales and marketing, technology/research and development management, and strategy formulation.

Ron started his career as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force, serving as the focal point for Space Situational Awareness capability development at Air Force Space Command’s Space Control Division. He then joined Boeing and worked on various programs as a Systems Engineering Manager within Boeing Research & Technology and Phantom Works and led business development activities for the Network & Space Systems division throughout the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining Astroscale, Ron led the Defense Asia Pacific sales team at Honeywell Aerospace, helping the company achieve significant sales growth and expansion into new markets.

In 2022, Ron was appointed to the U.S. National Space Council’s Users’ Advisory Group by the Office of the Vice President, and in late 2023 he was appointed to the Aerospace Industries Association’s (AIA) Executive Committee. He has spent more than half his career working and living in Japan, and he is an active member of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation’s U.S.-Japan Space Forum.

Ron earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The United States Air Force Academy in 1993.

Eddie Kato joined Astroscale Japan as President and Managing Director in February 2023. He will work closely with the management teams of Astroscale Holdings Inc. and its U.S. and U.K. subsidiaries to drive the company’s growth.

Eddie has more than 35 years of experience in the space industry and has worked extensively internationally. Most recently, he founded the consulting firm HISe, Inc. in Washington, D.C., in 2015. He led the company for seven years as founder and president, providing strategic advice and market development support for the space and telecommunications sectors. Prior to HISe, he spent seven years at Thales Alenia Space, where he managed the Asia region, headed the sales division in the French headquarters, and served as president of the North American subsidiary. He also worked for Orbital Sciences, Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Mitsubishi Electric in their space sectors.

Philippe Blatt joined Astroscale as Managing Director of Astroscale France in September 2023 to grow the company’s business operations in France.

Philippe brings over three decades of defense and commercial space experience, spanning systems engineering, general management, and program management of multi-million-dollar portfolios with governments and space agencies in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Philippe started his career as a Systems Engineer and then joined Thales Group where he held various leadership roles for over 30 years. He most recently drove digitalization efforts at Thales France and was responsible for expanding service accessibility within the French Armed Forces. Prior to this, Blatt served as Program Director for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense Marshall program, transforming air traffic management across 100 defense locations. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of Thales Alenia Space Germany, and Vice President of Navigation Domain of Thales Alenia Space France, managing a large team of personnel and European suppliers, and engaged with the Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales, the European Space Agency, the European Commission, and other prominent stakeholders.

Philippe holds an engineering degree in Electronics from Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse.

Ofir Azriel served as Vice President of Engineering at Astroscale Israel, and as a member of the leadership team, he has supported the company through an acquisition, the opening of a new office and two laboratories, and assisted in managing the growth of the business from 9 employees and consultants to more than 40. As Managing Director, he will continue to lead the growth of Astroscale Israel.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in the space industry and holds a Bachelor of Science, Math & Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.