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OHB SE
appoints Dr. Luis Alejandro Orellano as
Chief Operating Officer to the Executive
Board
8 June 2026
OHB is expanding its
Group Executive Board with the addition of a
Chief Operating Officer: Dr. Luis Alejandro
Orellano will take charge of the company’s
day-to-day operations effective July 1,
2026. The experienced manager joins at a
time when OHB has a record order backlog and
is facing a generational market opportunity
driven by the expansion of Europe’s
sovereign space capabilities. Against this
backdrop, the Company is placing even
greater emphasis on combining the leadership
and execution of complex large-scale
programs with the operational scaling of
industrial value creation and the expansion
of cross-group technical synergies.
“Dr. Orellano is a
great asset to our management team. The
growth phase we are currently in shows us
that we can learn a great deal from other
industries, particularly when it comes to
scaling and industrialization. Dr. Orellano
will greatly enrich us with his skills and
experience, and I am delighted that we were
able to bring him on board to manage our
operational business,” explains CEO Marco
Fuchs.
Supervisory Board
Chairman Robert Wethmar adds: “OHB has
developed extremely rapidly in recent years,
and its growth trajectory continues
steadily. We are convinced that by
appointing an experienced Chief Operating
Officer, we will both strengthen and
accelerate this course, thereby further
positioning the company for the future.”
Throughout his career,
Dr. Orellano has built a strong track record
in scaling highly complex technology-driven
organisations, improving industrial
performance and establishing operating
models capable of supporting sustained
growth in mission-critical industries. As
COO at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, he was
responsible for value creation in the
complex, long-lasting submarine and frigate
programs while simultaneously modernizing
the shipyards industrially – with measurable
effects on production time, costs, and
quality. Subsequently, as Executive Vice
President, he steered the Technology Systems
division at Rohde & Schwarz back onto a
sustainable growth trajectory, increasing
the revenue significantly within three years
and achieving a profitable result, while
establishing a new operating model that
accommodates even complex large-scale
projects. Prior to that, he spent over 17
years at DaimlerChrysler and Bombardier in
technical and operational leadership roles,
where he was honored as a “Principal
Specialist” – the highest internal
recognition for technical leadership within
the group.
“I am very much looking
forward to my new role and to getting to
know the company, the people, and the
projects. For me, this move is in many ways
a homecoming: As an aerospace engineer, I am
returning to my professional roots – and at
the same time back to an
environment
characterized by systems business. Both
aspects appeal to me greatly, and I look
forward to shaping the next steps in
development together with the OHB team,”
says Orellano.
Dr. Orellano holds a
Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. He earned
his master’s degree from the Technical
University of Munich and his Ph.D. in fluid
mechanics from the University of the German
Armed Forces in Munich.
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