Steve Collar, currently managing director of SES Networks, has been appointed managing director and chairman of the executive committee of SES, the company stated in a press release on 12 February.

Andrew Browne has been appointed the new chief financial officer of SES. He had held the post previously from 2010 to 2013, and was, until recently,chief financial officer of O3b Networks.

The other members of the executive committee, namely Ferdinand Kayser (general director of SES Video), Christophe De Hauwer (strategy and development director), Martin Halliwell (technical director), Evie Roos (director of human resources) and John Purvis (chief legal officer) ), will all remain at their posts. A successor to Steve Collar as managing director of SES Networks has yet to be appointed.

SES Chairman Romain Bausch said: “We are very pleased to welcome Steve and Andrew to the positions of chief executive officer and chief financial officer. Both have extensive experience in SES and the satellite industry as a whole, including as architects of O3b, the fastest-growing and fastest-growing satellite start-up. With our management team, our position in the industry, our strong balance sheet and differentiated assets and capabilities, we believe we are well positioned to achieve our goals. Karim guided the strategic positioning of SES in a context of rapid evolution, and formed, with the management team, very high level talents and restructured our activities and our organisation to allow the full implementation of our strategy. Padraig, on the other hand, has contributed significantly to SES's success since joining our ranks in 1995, enabling SES to develop a strong financial profile and balance sheet and to become a global leader in the satellite industry. I wish Karim all the best for his future projects and Padraig for his well-deserved retirement.”

Steve Collar, designated general manager of SES, said: “I am delighted to lead SES to its next stage of development, building on the achievements of 2017 and the foundations that have been put in place. I thank the council for its trust and support. In the short term, we will focus on solid execution, continuing to deploy differentiated services for our customers, and in the long term we will continue our forward-looking strategy.”