Eutelsat names Orange France CEO Jean-François Fallacher as CEO. Photo: Eutelsat

Eutelsat Group has appointed Orange France CEO Jean-François Fallacher to lead the satellite operator as CEO, replacing Eva Berneke. Eutelsat announced the change on Monday morning after a board decision on May 4. Fallacher will take the helm on June 1. 

Fallacher has served as executive vice president and CEO of Orange, the French multinational telecommunications company, since April 2023. He has led Orange operations in Spain, Romania and Poland, and previously served as COO of internet service provider Wanadoo in the Netherlands and CEO of telecoms consulting firm Sofrecom. 

Eutelsat described the move as a “natural change that fully aligns Eutelsat to the telecom ecosystem.”

“I am delighted to welcome Jean-François Fallacher as he picks up the baton from Eva. With his proven track record of success and wealth of experience and expertise, I am convinced he is the right leader to take Eutelsat forward and successfully steward the company through the opportunities and challenges which will undoubtedly present themselves in the coming years,” Eutelsat board chair Dominique D’Hinnin commented. 

D’Hinnin credited Berneke for delivering on Eutelsat’s telecoms pivot strategy amid “increased competitive and geopolitical pressure.” 

“Technology is evolving faster than ever, and in today’s increasingly complex geopolitical context, satellite networks have become a key element in the connectivity landscape. I am convinced Eutelsat has the fundamentals to be a winner in this environment,” Fallacher said in a statement. 

Berneke took the helm at Eutelsat at the start of 2022, and within months made the move to fully acquire OneWeb and form a combined Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) operator. 

OneWeb, with more than 600 satellites, is the only broadband LEO constellation currently in operation as a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. Like the rest of the satcom industry, Eutelsat has been impacted by competition from Starlink. However, it has also seen a recent uptick in interest with calls for Europe to spend more on sovereign defense capabilities.

“Eutelsat is set for a full alignment with a world where Europe is a strong sovereign space player and strongly aligned with the telecom connectivity ecosystem. So with Eutelsat’s strategy anchored in the IRIS² constellation, and a European sovereign future, we look to adjust our governance and shareholder structure, and this has paved the way for our CEO succession,” Berneke said Monday in a statement on LinkedIn.