Danish radar manufacturer Weibel Scientific has announced the appointment of Peter Røpke as its new chief executive officer, succeeding Frode Scott Nilsen, effective from 2 December 2024.
Røpke joins Weibel from a role as CEO of US technology company RTX. He previously served as CEO of Flügger and executive vice president of business and technology development at Grundfos. He also has extensive research and development experience from leadership roles in Nokia.
He has a degree in engineering from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
“Weibel has achieved impressive growth in recent years, both in terms of revenue and number of employees. We have substantial market opportunities ahead of us, and we must capitalise on them through continuous product development and expansion in existing and new markets. This requires solid operational performance and on-time delivery to our customers,” noted Jørgen Falkebo Jensen, chairman of the board at Weibel Scientific, in a company press release. “Peter Røpke, with his extensive CEO experience and his unique combination of global commercial expertise, proven track record in operations and business development, and deep technical understanding, is the ideal leader to take on this challenge.”
“Weibel has the best products on the market, particularly in the defence sector, and its technology is second to none. We need to capitalise on this by being more active in developing our markets, especially in the US and Asia,” said Røpke upon his appointment. “We must also continually improve our delivery performance and ensure we are providing excellent service to our customers wherever they are. I am very much looking forward to working with Weibel’s talented team and owners to achieve this. To be the world leader in its niche while remaining a Danish family-owned company with strong values is a unique combination that I greatly respect and will work hard to preserve.”
With airspace defence currently a major priority for NATO and its allies, Weibel has seen demand for its surveillance radars grow significantly .Over the last four years the company has grown from DKK 325 million (EUR 43.6 million) in revenue and 160 employees to DKK 575 million in revenue and a workforce of more tham 400 highly specialised engineers and technicians. The ambition is to reach DKK 1 billion in revenue in 2025 and DKK 2.5 billion in revenue with 700 employees by 2030.
