Tejpaul Bhatia, a former Google executive, has been named chief executive officer at Axiom Space.
The commercial space infrastructure and human spaceflight services provider said Friday Bhatia succeeds Axiom Space co-founder Kam Ghaffarian, who will remain as executive chairman.
As the new CEO, Bhatia will lead the company in its mission of accelerating the delivery of a commercial, human-rated space station authorized to connect to the International Space Station in 2027.
Bhatia’s Career Highlights
Bhatia joined Axiom Space in 2021 as chief revenue officer. In this capacity, he led the company’s efforts in delivering human spaceflight and low-Earth orbit innovation services worldwide. His tenure was highlighted by major deals and missions, including sovereign government purchases of commercial human spaceflight missions to the ISS. These achievements helped establish Axiom Space as a major player in human space exploration.
Before joining Axiom Space, Bhatia spent over three years at Google as an executive engagement and thought leader for the office of the chief information officer, leading the development of Google’s external strategic narrative. He was also a startup ecosystem manager, driving Google Cloud’s growth within the startup community.
The Axiom Space executive also held the entrepreneur in residence role at Citi, where he oversaw a portfolio of 15 startups under Citibank’s corporate incubator. He was also the chief operating officer of Explain Everything, founder and CEO of Chatwala and vice president of business development & marketing at AHAlife. He was also the president and CEO of Kaptur, a company he co-founded in 2007. Bhatia also worked at ESPN for over five years as the senior manager of product and international strategy.