Patrick Biewer was named CEO of LuxGovSat, a joint venture launched in February by SES and the Luxembourg government. The new firm will provide “governmental and military communication services”, SES said in a press communiqué on Tuesday.

“This public-private partnership will enable Luxembourg to meet its expanding obligations in European defence and to further diversify the national economy in a key technology sector,” Étienne Schneider, Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister, who also holds the defence and economy portfolios, said in the announcement.

Biewer has been employed by SES for 22 years, most recently serving as managing director of the SES unit that provides “broadband internet services via satellite”.