Via Satellite has named, Stéphane Israël, the Chairman & CEO of Arianespace, as the Satellite Executive of the Year for 2016 for his flawless and impressive performance during 2015 and 2016. Leading Arianespace since 2013, he has proven himself as a true leader guaranteeing the company’s success in an increasingly competitive and changing environment.
After Israël took over at Arianespace in 2013, the launch service provider faced more competition than every before, yet the they built an signed contracts with a number of companies in the satellite industry such as OneWeb and SkyBox Imaging (Terra Bella) while also maintaining Arianespace’s long term relationship with global and regional operators.
In 2016, Arianespace performed 11 successful launches that included seven launches of its heavy launcher Ariane 5, which set several new records. Ariane 5 recorded feats of taking more than 10.7 tons to GTO, delivering 4 Galileo satellites at once for the first time while also completing 77 successes in a row since 2003. The company also signed 13 new launch contracts in 2016 which includes nine Ariane 5 contracts, two Soyuz contracts and two Vega contracts. The company now has an order book valued at 5.2 billion Euros representing 53 launches for 30 customers.
Courtesy to Israël and his proven negotiation skills in European institutional waters, Arianespace has been building strength to strength by signing new contracts. In 2016, the company secured two future launch vehicles, Ariane 6 and Vega C, thanks to crucial ESA decisions made in November 2016. Moreover, Arianespace also adopted new governance after CNES shares were transferred to Airbus Safran Launchers.
Via Satellite magazine has been honoring the satellite executives who have made lasting business impacts on the global satellite market during the previous calendar year for the past 30 years. Stéphane Israël will be presented with the award at the Satellite Executive of the Year award luncheon on March 8 at the upcoming SATELLITE 2017 Conference and Exhibition to be held from March 6-9, 2017 in Washington D.C, USA.
Click here for more details on the event.
