A Polish executive with more than 25 years of experience in the international aerospace and technology industries has been appointed to a senior leadership position at the European Space Agency (ESA), where he will help shape the relationship between Europe’s space programmes and commercial businesses.
Andrzej Banasiak will become ESA’s Director of Commercialisation and Industry Partnership on 1 January 2027, based at the agency’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) in Harwell, United Kingdom.
The appointment was approved during the 350th meeting of the ESA Council, held at the agency’s headquarters in Paris on 21–22 October 2026.
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In its official announcement, ESA confirmed that Banasiak was one of two new directors approved by representatives of its member states. The other, Germany’s Nicolaus Hanowski, will become Director of Space Operations.
For Banasiak, the appointment brings together a career spent developing technology businesses and industrial partnerships with one of Europe’s most important international scientific and technological organisations.
Turning space technology into commercial success
ESA is best known internationally for its satellites, scientific missions and exploration programmes. However, an important part of its work involves helping businesses turn space research and engineering into products and services with practical applications on Earth.
Banasiak’s directorate sits at the centre of that effort.
According to Poland’s Ministry of Development and Technology, the role involves cooperation with industrial companies, investors, financial institutions and ESA member states.
Its responsibilities include supporting the commercial use of space technologies, developing industrial partnerships, encouraging new products and services, expanding the application of satellite data and helping businesses obtain financing.
Such technologies have applications well beyond space exploration.
Satellite-based services support telecommunications, navigation, environmental monitoring, agriculture, logistics and emergency management. Companies working on satellite components, robotics and specialist software can also contribute to wider industrial supply chains.
Banasiak will be based at ECSAT in Harwell, one of ESA’s principal centres for commercialisation, connectivity and cooperation with industry.
The British facility supports entrepreneurs developing satellite-enabled services and hosts programmes intended to help new companies bring their technologies to market.
Commenting on his appointment, Banasiak said:
“Europe’s future in space will be shaped not only by what we invent, but by what we build together.”
He said he looked forward to working with ESA’s teams, member states and businesses to strengthen Europe’s industrial capabilities and competitiveness.
A career across Europe’s technology industry
Banasiak arrives at ESA with extensive experience in the private sector rather than a career confined to a single space agency.
At the time of his appointment, he was serving as Safran Group’s Country Delegate in Poland and Managing Director of Safran Electronics & Defense in the country.
His previous employers include Rheinmetall Electronics Hungary, Thales Alenia Space Polska, General Electric, Boeing and Schlumberger.
Between 2015 and 2022, he held senior management responsibilities at Thales Alenia Space Polska, helping develop the company’s Polish engineering capabilities and cooperation with ESA.
He subsequently led Rheinmetall Electronics Hungary between 2022 and 2026, according to biographical information published by Poland’s development ministry.
His education also reflects that international career. Banasiak studied at IMT Atlantique, formerly Telecom Bretagne, in France and completed a Global Executive MBA programme at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
The combination of engineering-sector experience, international management and industrial development is particularly relevant to a position focused on commercialising Europe’s space technologies.
Poland’s growing presence in Europe’s space industry
Banasiak’s appointment comes as Poland expands its participation in European space programmes.
Poland became a full ESA member in November 2012. Since then, its companies, universities and research institutions have taken on a growing range of projects involving satellites, software, communications and space engineering.
The Polish development ministry estimates that the national space sector now includes more than 500 businesses, research institutions and higher education organisations.
Around 300 cooperate with ESA, while more than 150 participate directly in advanced projects under the agency’s programmes.
Poland has also increased its financial commitments. At ESA’s ministerial council in November 2025, it pledged almost €550 million for optional programmes covering 2026–2028.
That is a funding commitment for the three-year programme period, not an amount already spent.
A further development came in July 2026, when the Polish government announced plans for an ESA technology centre in Warsaw, intended to support space technologies and applications relevant to security and industrial development.
These developments provide a broader setting for Banasiak’s appointment, although his new position is an ESA-wide responsibility rather than a role representing Poland or managing Polish national interests.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation independent of the European Union, bringing together 23 member states to cooperate on space research, technology and applications.
For Poland’s developing space industry, the appointment is another indication of the international experience its executives have accumulated.
For Banasiak, the next milestone is already fixed: on 1 January 2027, he will begin work at Harwell, helping connect European space innovation with the businesses capable of bringing it into everyday use.
