Chris Gates is NextNav’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for all financial functions, including financial reporting, treasury and financial planning and analysis (FP&A), capital formation, investor relations, and tax. He was appointed CFO in 2021 as part of NextNav’s transition to a publicly traded company, bringing strong financial expertise and industry experience to the role.
In 2010, Chris began working with NextNav on business planning and corporate development. In 2011, he joined NextNav full-time as Senior Vice President of Strategy, Corporate and Business Development. In that role, he led strategic partnerships, contributed to policy and standards outreach, supported public safety initiatives, including E911 and FirstNet, and helped shape the company’s monetization and asset development strategies. He is also a named co-inventor on several patents related to NextNav’s technologies.
He began his career in finance and has broad experience across telecommunications and technology ventures. Prior to NextNav, he served as Vice President of Strategy at SkyTerra, a telecom company integrating satellite and terrestrial radio technologies. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College with a double major in Economics and Engineering Sciences.