In this role, Nygren will assume leadership of the world-class engineers and scientists who are addressing the nation’s hardest problems in space.

“At this time of great change in the space enterprise, Todd’s deep knowledge of the space domain and proven leadership in developing new strategies with our customers and industry partners make him the perfect person for this role,” said Steve Isakowitz, Aerospace president and CEO. “Todd will bring a laser-like focus on our ability to respond quickly to our customers with innovative solutions.”

Nygren will lead Aerospace’s Engineering and Technology Group, which comprises about 1,500 engineers and scientists making up nearly half the company’s technical staff. ETG employees bring their deep knowledge of this nation’s space systems to their work of innovating technologies, architecting new solutions, and discovering breakthroughs in areas such as materials, optics, and artificial intelligence in Aerospace’s state-of-the-art labs.

In his more than 30 years at Aerospace, Nygren has worked in ETG and across multiple program offices at Aerospace in various roles, including principal director for the Advanced EHF program in the Milsatcom division, Advanced Planning, and general manager for the Systems Engineering Division. Recently, while serving as general manager and corporate chief engineer, he was a focal point for the team that developed innovative strategies to address emerging threats to national security space and helped stand up Aerospace leadership for the portfolio architect as part of the Space and Missiles Systems Center 2.0 initiative.

Nygren joined Aerospace as a summer hire in 1985 and became a member of the technical staff in 1987, supporting military mission planning on the Space Transportation System for the Space Test Program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Bethel College and a master’s degree in system architecting and engineering from the University of Southern California.

To ensure a successful leadership transition, Nygren will become vice president of special studies Jan. 1, 2020. He will report into current SVP ETG, Dr. Chuck Gustafson. On April 1, Nygren will assume the role of SVP of ETG as Gustafson transitions to lead the Office of the Chief Velocity Officer (OCVO) until his retirement in December of 2020. Dr. Willie Krenz retires as CVO on March 31, 2020.