A Changing of the Guard

Change is afoot at the top of the satellite industry. For a number of the big operators, they have seen significant change in their management teams in recent years. At the time of going to press, SES announced that Adel Al-Saleh is the company's new CEO, starting February next year. Both Eutelsat and Intelsat also have recently appointed CEOs within the last two years, with Eva Berneke and David Wajsgras, respectively. In less than two years, three of the big players have had changes at the CEO position.

Interestingly, both Berneke and Al-Saleh are completely new to the satellite industry and cut their teeth in the telecoms arena. They both face challenging jobs given the intense competition in the satellite industry. Berneke wasted little time making an impact at Eutelsat buying OneWeb very soon after becoming the CEO. It will be interesting to see whether we might see something as dramatic from Al-Saleh in 2024 and beyond. There is a definite feeling of a changing of the guard among the operators.

Our November edition is a precursor to the CyberSatGov event in Reston, Virginia between Nov. 6 and Nov. 8. We have an amazing roster of speakers with many key U.S. government speakers taking part. With escalating defense spending on satellite capabilities, it will be a great opportunity to hear about how the Space Force wants to work with commercial space industry going forward, as well as finding out the latest intelligence on threats to satellite networks.

This edition is heavy on technology and cybersecurity. Sonali Mohapatra takes a look at the future of quantum computing for space. It is a very thought-provoking article. Marisa Torrieri looks at how AI and ML are impacting Earth Observation. With a nod to CyberSatGov, Thom Fain looks at how next generation cyber defense works with space capability. Finally, we have an in-depth interview with the new CEO of ST Engineering iDirect, Don Claussen, about his aspirations for one of the major technology companies in this sector.

We look forward to seeing some of you at CyberSatGov as we talk everything cybersecurity, AI, and space.