Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël. Via Satellite archive illustration

Arianespace’s longtime CEO Stéphane Israël will leave the company at the end of the year, the French launcher announced Thursday. Israël led Arianespace since 2013 and supervised 108 launches and played a key role in the development of the Ariane 6. 

Israël is leaving the company for another opportunity that has not yet been announced. David Cavaillolès, chief sales officer of Capgemini Financial Services will take over as CEO in 2025. Cavaillolès previously served as ministerial advisor for French space policy in 2017. 

Arianespace credited Israël with consolidating the Ariane 5, Vega, and Soyuz launcher families and supporting the development of Ariane 6 and Vega C next-generation launchers, and transitioning Arianespace from from dual Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellite launches to solutions designed for large constellations in Low-Earth Orbit and the growing diversity of satellites. He also supervised the James Webb Telescope (JWST) mission for NASA. 

Israël won Satellite Executive of the Year in 2016 for ramping up Arianespace’s launch cadence and growing the company’s order backlog amid greater competition. 

While Arianespace once held a near-monopoly position in the launch market, the company has had to adjust strategy as SpaceX disrupted the market with reusable rockets. 

Over the past few years Arianespace has dealt with a lack of launch capacity as the Ariane 6 debut was delayed, the Vega-C rocket was out of service for two years, and it lost access to the Soyuz rocket due to Russia’s war in Ukraine — leaving Europe without dedicated access to space. In 2024, Ariane 6 made a successful debut and the Vega-C returned to flight. 

“Leading Arianespace since April 2013 has been an extraordinary privilege,” Israël said in a statement. “Over the course of 108 launches, each one was a unique and unforgettable journey. We have secured numerous launch contracts, built a robust order book that now includes 30 Ariane 6 missions, with even more exciting news on the horizon. With Ariane 6 beginning its operational journey and Vega-C back on track, the time has come for me to start a new professional chapter in January 2025.”