TAMPA, Fla. — Rodolphe Belmer plans to step down as Eutelsat’s CEO at the beginning of 2022 after six years with the French satellite operator.
Belmer has been at Eutelsat’s helm since March 2016, spearheading its expansion into the connectivity market amid a gradual decline in broadcast revenues for the satellite industry.
This strategy recently saw Eutelsat become the second-largest shareholder of OneWeb, the low Earth orbit broadband startup that has deployed more than half its satellite constellation to date.
Eutelsat said it has not yet found a replacement for Belmer.
“It has been my great pleasure to lead this fantastic company for the last six years and to executing [sic] its telecom pivot,” Belmer said in a statement.
“It has been an exciting time both professionally and also personally. The women and men of this company have shared with me their passion for space, their attachment to the European industry and their full commitment to the great, collective project that is Eutelsat.”
In September, Eutelsat’s board rejected an unsolicited $3.2 billion takeover attempt from billionaire magnate Patrick Drahi, who founded multinational telecommunications firm Altice.[spacenews-ad]
