Long-time aerospace executive Tony Gingiss will be Virgin Orbit's first chief operating officer, the satellite launch company announced Wednesday.
The former CEO of OneWeb Satellites will oversee daily operations at Virgin's Long Beach manufacturing facility, where the company built its LauncherOne, which successfully placed satellites into orbit last month.
Before his time at OneWeb, Gingiss held a number of roles across business strategy, engineering and communications at Boeing Satellites System in El Segundo. He's worked in aerospace design, production and operations for over 30 years.
"His leadership, insight, and experience will be a huge asset to us as we take the next step in our journey from a team focused on R&D to a launch company focused on serving our customers," said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart in a statement.
The company said it's already integrating its next batch of rockets at its production facility. And last month, it announced a deal to launch the Dutch Ministry of Defense's first satellite later this year.