Republican Erik Aadland lands at local tech firm after runs for Congress, Colorado state GOP chair

Former congressional nominee Erik Aadland has taken a job as vice president of business development at XetaWave, a Louisville-based company that designs and manufactures high-speed wireless communication equipment, the company said Thursday in a release.

Aadland will be responsible for developing opportunities in new markets and industries for the company's products, which are used to transmit data by oil and gas companies, railroads and the military, among other industries, the company said.

A West Point graduate and decorated Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, Aadland was the Republican nominee last year in the Jefferson County-based 7th Congressional District. He lost to Democrat Brittany Pettersen, a former state lawmaker. Earlier this month, Aadland finished second in the GOP's race for state chair.

"We are very excited for Erik to join our team and continue to accelerate our worldwide growth by leveraging his proven leadership skills, ability to drive teams to high levels of success, and his in-depth business experience specifically within the oil and gas industry, which is one of XetaWave's core markets," said Jonathan Sawyer, founder and CEO of XetaWave, in a statement.

Last year, Sawyer donated $110,000 to the super PAC that backed Aadland's 2022 congressional run, amounting to more than 40% of the roughly $260,000 raised by For Colorado's Future. Sawyer and his wife, Kimberly, XetaWave's vice president for marketing, each gave the maximum $5,900 to Aadland's congressional committee.  

Before Aadland became involved in politics — he launched a bid for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat two years ago before switching to the U.S. House race in late 2021 — the Jefferson County resident helped manage a $5 billion offshore natural gas project in Israel. He earned a master's degree in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif.

“I’m extremely excited to join a great company and bring to bear my extensive experience in the private, military and political sectors toward adding value to XetaWave," Aadland told Colorado Politics in a text message. "It feels deeply rewarding to join a great team where my capabilities and experience can be fully utilized. I look forward to an exciting future in this dynamic business!”

He said he plans to stay involved in politics as much as possible, likely working behind the scenes.

Aadland lives in Pine with his wife and their three children.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information about XetaWave CEO Jonathan Sawyer's contributions last year to a super PAC supporting Aadland and to Aadland's campaign.