Steve Collar, the head of Luxembourg’s oldest spacetech firm, is set to leave the company at the end of June.
Collar began working for the Betzdorf-based satellite operator in 2007 and left in 2011 to lead Dutch operator O3B Networks. He returned to the company in 2016 when SES bought out the partners of O3B.
According to SES, the CEO will step down to “pursue other professional and personal endeavours.” He will be replaced by interim CEO Ruy Pinto, who is currently SES’s Chief Technology Officer.
Collar said in a statement: “It has been the greatest honour of my life to lead the incredible people at SES. SES has been the benchmark in the industry for decades and I leave the company as its leader and go back to being a huge supporter, admirer and fan and will be cheering Ruy and the Management Team on from the side-lines.”
Pinto takes over at a time when Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, promising fast internet anywhere, threatens to dominate the telecom operations sector. To combat the threat, in March SES revealed that it was in talks with US rival Intelsat for a consolidation. If concluded, Bloomberg valued the deal at $10b deal including debt. Speaking to the Luxembourg Times, SES spokesperson Susanne Ong said the departure was unconnected to these talks.
SES was formed on the initiative and support of the Luxembourg Government in 1985 as Société Européenne des Satellites (SES). The Luxembourg State retains a 17% stake in the company.
Chairman of the SES Board of Directors Frank Esser thanked Collar and welcomed Pinto to the role.
He said: “The current market environment is rapidly changing, and I welcome Ruy Pinto, who leads over half of the SES workforce today and has substantial industry experience, as we address the challenges and capture further opportunities in the market.”
