24 Feb HAT.tec strengthens customer focus and development speed by appointing Rafael Koch as new Chief Customer Officer
- The newly created CCO role accelerates tailored product development by consolidating responsibility for product development and delivery and serving as a direct interface to customers and end users.
- As the new CCO, Rafael Koch combines several years at HAT.tec with extensive experience scaling an AI start-up and broad expertise from working with established industry players such as Airbus Helicopters and Ferchau Aviation.
Munich / Neubiberg, February 24, 2026 – HAT.tec (Human-Autonomy-Teaming Technologies), Europe’s leading software company for platform-independent mission management in military and security-relevant operations, has appointed Rafael Koch as Chief Customer Officer (CCO).
The newly created position strengthens the company’s proximity to customers and end users, such as pilots and operators. By consolidating product development, delivery, and customer and user engagement within a single area of responsibility, HAT.tec is creating tightly integrated processes that enable fast feedback and development cycles.
“Whether pilots, drone operators, or mission commanders: since the founding of HAT.tec, their specific needs have been at the center of everything we do. As a growing company, we are now translating this DNA into our organizational structure. As CCO, Rafael Koch will ensure that our products and solutions continue to be tailored to customer needs through direct dialogue,” said Fabian Schmitt, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of HAT.tec. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Rafael Koch in his new role. Thanks to his diverse experience across various aviation companies, he quickly understands the different perspectives of all stakeholders involved and can draw on a broad operational portfolio to develop solutions efficiently and in a targeted manner.”
“At HAT.tec, it’s about technology for people. Human Autonomy Teaming supports and empowers pilots and operators in their missions. As CCO, my goal is to serve as a central point of contact for these users and to take responsibility for ensuring that we continue to deliver exactly the capabilities that meet our customers’ real-world needs,” added Rafael Koch, CCO of HAT.tec.
Rafael Koch leverages his professional experience in software, aviation, and security and defense to connect diverse perspectives and identify overarching interdependencies. Since 2023, he has contributed his expertise to HAT.tec – most recently as Chief of Staff alongside the executive management team. Prior to that, over more than five years in various roles – including Head of Customer Success – he played a key role in driving the successful growth of Operations1, an AI start-up for industrial production processes.
Koch built extensive aviation expertise in project management roles at Ferchau Aviation and Airbus Helicopters after earning his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. Before and during his studies, he worked in the military sector. He assumed his new role as CCO of HAT.tec on January 1, 2026.