James Heappey joins Nordic Air Defence Board

Image courtesy NAD

The interceptor is designed to counter low-flying, low cost drones that cause millions of dollars worth of damage to expensive systems. Also joining the board is NAD’s head of product Nicholas Högasten.

After a military career spanning nine years, Heappey turned to politics, serving as the Conservative MP for Wells between 2015 and 2024. During his tenure, he held positions within the Ministry of Defence as both Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Minister for Defence Procurement. Following his exit from frontline politics in 2024, Heappey now holds multiple advisory positions at the likes of Serco, Helsing and AECOM, as well as being the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at M&C Saatchi World Services.

Heappey’s mandate at Nordic Air Defence is to strengthen the company’s strategic positioning across European defence procurement ecosystems, spanning the United Kingdom, EU member states and relevant NATO structures. In this role, he will guide Nordic Air Defence’s engagement with European procurement systems, and provide strategic advice on procurement pathways, innovation channels and accelerated acquisition mechanisms.

He will also contribute to strengthening Nordic Air Defence’s position within emerging European defence acceleration initiatives and support the company’s long-term market entry strategy across key European jurisdictions. His appointment is intended to accelerate Nordic Air Defence’s integration into formal European procurement tracks, pilot programmes and strategic defence partnerships, reinforcing the company’s ability to participate in and contribute to the evolving European defence landscape.

Also joining the NAD Board is Nicholas Högasten, who currently serves as Head of Product at Nordic Air Defence and leads the development and product strategy for the company’s next-generation air defence systems. In this role, he is responsible for translating operational requirements into scalable, mission-ready solutions, guiding product architecture and ensuring the company’s technology roadmap aligns with evolving defence needs and deployment realities.

His appointment to the board brings deep expertise in defence technology, sensing systems and complex product development. Nicholas’s hands-on experience leading advanced engineering programmes strengthens the board’s ability to guide technology strategy, support the transition from development to scaled production and ensure Nordic Air Defence continues to deliver effective, operationally relevant capabilities as it grows.

NAD Board Member James Heappey: “It is energising to be involved with a company that is driving frontline innovation in Europe at a time when it is needed more than ever. The war in Ukraine has shown with absolute clarity the urgency of accelerating capability development and ensuring that the right technologies reach the frontline without delay. Speed and adaptability are absolutely essential. 

"For early-stage and rapidly growing companies like NAD, one of the greatest barriers to progress is navigating procurement systems that are often far more accessible to large, established primes. Ensuring that innovators can get their foot in the door is the only way we can deliver the pace of innovation required to meet the evolving threat environment and ensure Europe’s armed forces have access to the most effective capabilities when they need them most.”

Nordic Air Defence CEO Karl Rosander: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome James to the Board. It’s rare to bring in someone with such deep, first-hand recent experience from senior leadership roles within a modern defence ministry, and who truly understands how modern defence systems are developed, procured, and deployed under real operational pressure. His perspective and credibility, drawing on his active duty in the British Army, will have an immediate and meaningful impact on our ability to navigate complex procurement environments and engage with the right stakeholders at the highest levels.”

Nordic Air Defence (NAD) is a Stockholm-headquartered company developing high tech defensive solutions for both civilian and military use. NAD is a true hardware-software company with expertise in electronics, mechanical design, embedded systems, software engineering and AI, with a team that includes veterans from Anduril, Palantir, Teledyne FLIR, Kratos, FOI (the Swedish Defence Research Agency), Acast, Zipline, SAAB and Quantum Systems.