SES’s Steve Collar to step down
June 12, 2023
By Colin Mann
Satellite operator SES has announced that Steve Collar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will be stepping down at the end of June 2023 to pursue other professional and personal endeavours. The search for a successor is underway and Ruy Pinto, currently Chief Technology Officer of SES, will assume the role of CEO until a permanent successor is announced.
“We would like to thank Steve for his significant contribution to SES over a period of more than 20 years,” stated Frank Esser, Chairman of the SES Board of Directors. “As CEO, Steve successfully steered SES, leaving the business in a strong position for the future with a differentiated multi-orbit capability, world-class set of customer solutions, a simplified and market-centric organisation, and a strong balance sheet set to be further strengthened from the execution of C-band clearing. The current market environment is rapidly changing, and I welcome Ruy Pinto, who leads over half of the SES workforce today and has substantial industry experience, as we address the challenges and capture further opportunities in the market. The Board has full confidence in Ruy and our management’s engagement on continued strong execution as we embark on a new phase of success for SES.”
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to lead the incredible people at SES,” added Collar. “SES has been the benchmark in the industry for decades and I leave the company as its leader and go back to being a huge supporter, admirer and fan and will be cheering Ruy and the Management Team on from the side-lines. With O3b mPOWER launching, the company performing well and C-band all but delivered, the future is bright, and I wish the Board and everyone at SES every success.”
Pinto joined SES in February 2017 and was appointed Chief Technology Officer in January 2019, driving the differentiation in multi-orbit capabilities and the cloudification of SES. Prior to SES, Pinto spent over 25 years at Inmarsat in various lead technical and managerial roles.
“I am delighted to be leading SES and working with our teams around the world through a transition period, progressing SES into a phase where we will continue to grow on a strong value creation trajectory for our stakeholders, executing strongly, simplifying our business and optimising our cost base,” commented Pinto.