Arianespace is revamping its organization to better meet the requirements of a competitive marketplace undergoing deep changes. The company has added four new members to its executive committee, which now represents all functions.

Arianespace’s new organization is designed to improve the company’s overall efficiency and clarify the roles and responsibilities of each directorate. Along with the industry competitiveness plan launched in 2014, and with the new Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers on the horizon, this new organization will bolster Arianespace’s ambition to remain the world leader in commercial space transport, while continuing to guarantee independent access to space for Europe.

The new organization will notably strengthen contract management by creating a Missions directorate in charge of overseeing the company’s quality, cost and deadline commitments, in relation to not only its customers, but also its shareholders.

The new organization clearly reflects the fact that Arianespace no longer operates just one, but rather three launchers (Ariane 5, Soyuz since 2011 and Vega since 2012), and has an annual target of 12 launches.

Arianespace now comprises four operational directorates:

Sales & Business Development

Missions

Engineering and Operations

Technical and Quality.

It also has three cross-functional directorates:

Administration and Finance

Human Resources

Brand and Communications.

The Arianespace Executive Committee, under the direction of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Israël, comprises seven members (new members are indicated by an asterisk):

Jacques Breton, Senior Vice President, Sales & Business Development

Luce Fabreguettes, Senior Vice President, Missions *

Louis Laurent, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Operations

Roland Lagier, Senior Vice President, Chief Technical Officer *

Michel Doubovick, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Philippe Nicolaï, Senior Vice President, Human Resources *

Isabelle Veillon, Senior Vice President, Brand and Communications *

At the same time, Arianespace made the following appointments:

Bruno Gérard: Vice President, Arianespace in French Guiana

Marino Fragnito: Vice President, Vega Business Unit, in the Missions directorate. Marino Fragnito will take part in Arianespace executive committee meetings when they address strategic issues concerning Vega.

“The changes in Arianespace’s organization are part of the initiatives we took to remain the leader in commercial space transport in a competitive environment undergoing deep changes,” said Stéphane Israël, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace.

“This organization is designed to make the marketing, sale and operation of our three launch systems even more efficient. Our four operational directorates will be supported by three cross-functional directorates, with clearly defined scopes, objectives and responsibilities. The executive committee has also been expanded to encompass all functions in the enterprise, thereby strengthening its management role.”

Biographies of Executive Committee members

Senior Vice President – Sales & Business Development

Jacques Breton has headed Arianespace’s commercial activities since 2009. In his current role as Senior Vice President – Sales & Business Development, he is focused on commercializing the company’s launch services solutions and defining future market requirements.

He joined Arianespace in 1985 as head of the technical support department in the Marketing & Sales division and participated in the start-up of Starsem (the company charged with marketing Soyuz launches at Baikonur Cosmodrome) in his role as Arianespace’s Vice President for Engineering and Production.

Jacques Breton was assigned to Arianespace’s U.S. subsidiary in Washington, D.C., as Director of Engineering from 1999 to 2003, where he was the technical liaison between customers and manufacturers in the United States, while participating in sales and marketing in the region. He then returned to Arianespace headquarters in Evry, France as the division head responsible for technical support and business development in the sales directorate.

Jacques Breton began his professional career with Avions Marcel Dassault-Bréguet Aviation in 1980. He holds a degree from the French ENSAM engineering school, with specialized graduate work in aerospace engineering at the Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Aéronautiques.

Senior Vice President – Missions

Luce Fabreguettes was named Arianespace’s Senior Vice President – Missions in April 2016. In this role, she is responsible for Ariane, Soyuz and Vega mission performance on behalf of Arianespace’s customers, and ensures a balanced exploitation of three launch systems in Arianespace’s product range: Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega.

Luce Fabreguettes joined Arianespace in 2005 as Project Head in the Sales Department, after which she took responsibility for the Vega program in 2007 to prepare for this launch vehicle becoming a part of the Arianespace launcher family. From 2009 to March 2016, she served as Arianespace’s Vice President – Business Development, in charge of customer proposals, marketing and competitive intelligence.

She began her career with Aerospatiale in 1990, assigned to a variety of engineering, project management and team management positions – notably for the Ariane 5 launcher. Based in Rome from 1998 to 1999, Luce Fabreguettes contributed to the creation of the Vegaspazio joint venture involving Aerospatiale and Fiat Avio, respon-sible for developing Vega. Returning to Paris in 2000, she worked for Starsem, the company responsible for commercializing the Soyuz launch vehicle in operations from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Luce Fabreguettes graduated in 1990 from Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France, and holds a master’s degree from the University of Salford, United Kingdom.

Senior Vice President – Engineering and Operations

Louis Laurent was named Arianespace’s Senior Vice President – Engineering and Operations in April 2016. In this role, he oversees the company’s engineering activities and operations for its commercial launch services. He also is responsible for preparing the utilization of future launch systems. Previously, Louis Laurent was Senior Vice President – Programs, a responsibility he exercised since July 2008.

His entire career has been devoted to the space sector. Louis Laurent served in the Launcher Directorate at the CNES French space agency, including development of the Ariane 5 launcher, and he worked as CNES’ space attaché in the French embassy to the United States in Washington, D.C from 1995 to 1999.

Returning to Europe, Louis Laurent joined Arianespace as Vice President of International Affairs; and then became Vice President – Development Programs in 2003, with a focus that included creation of the French Guiana launch site for the Russian-built Soyuz medium-lift launcher, along with launch site preparations for the light-lift Vega launcher.

Louis Laurent is a graduate of France’s l’Ecole Polytechnique, l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (SUPAERO), and l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Toulouse.

Senior Vice President – Technical and Quality; Chief Technical Officer

Roland Lagier was appointed as Arianespace’s Senior Vice President of Technical and Quality in April 2016 – a position that brings together the company’s Quality and Chief Technical Officer functions. In this role, he is responsible for guaranteeing the launch system flightworthiness for each mission operated by Arianespace, as well as implementing and managing the company’s quality policy.

Roland Lagier began his carrier with Aerospatiale in 1982 and joined Arianespace in 1997 as Head of the Environment and Structures Department. In 1999, he was named Vice President – Systems, covering mission analysis and procurement of the mission-specific “upper composite” for launchers on each Arianespace mission.

In 2010, Roland Lagier became the Vice President of Engineering and deputy to the Arianespace Senior Vice President – Technical, assisting in ensuring the coherence and technical viability of Ariane, Soyuz and Vega launch systems operated by Arianespace.

Roland Lagier holds a degree from the French IPSA engineering school.

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Michel Doubovick is Arianespace’s Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, having assumed this executive position on January 1, 2016. He is responsible for the company’s administrative and financial control, along with shareholder relations.

Michel Doubovick previously served as the company’s Director of Finance, from 2012 to 2015. He joined Arianespace in 2005 as Director of Governmental Affairs after working seven years with its Starsem affiliate (first as its Delegate for Governmental Affairs, then as Vice President, Administration and Finance).

He began his professional career in 1992 at CNES, with the responsibility for the French space agency’s relations with the United States, Russia and Japan.

Michel Doubovick graduated with a master’s degree in political sciences (Eastern Europe and former Soviet area studies) from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the same institute.

Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Philippe Nicolaï has been the Senior Vice President – Human Resources since 2009. In this role, he is responsible for the definition and implementation of Arianespace’s recruitment policy, talent management and compensation, as well as skills development (mobility, assignments, training, etc.) and negotiation of social agreements with employee representatives and unions.

In a career that began in 1985, Philippe Nicolaï has been continuously involved in human resources, having been assigned numerous positions within industrial and services companies.

He has a master’s degree in law.

Senior Vice-President, Brand and Communications

Isabelle Veillon was named Arianespace’s Senior Vice President – Brand and Communications in April 2016. In this role, she is responsible for the Arianespace brand strategy, and also is in charge of internal and external communications. She previously served as Arianespace’s Vice President – Communications.

Before joining Arianespace in 2014, Isabelle Veillon worked for 20 years in communication agencies, where she developed top-level expertise as an adviser to French and international clients, particularly high-technology companies. In 2012, she was appointed Deputy Chief Executive of the Burson-Marsteller i&e corporate communications agency, after having been its Managing Director and Executive Director from 2004 until 2011. She was a lecturer at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) beginning in 2009 and continuing until 2012.

Isabelle Veillon is a graduate of Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) and has an advanced degree (Agrégation) in contemporary literature.

Other biographies

Vice President Arianespace in French Guiana

Bruno Gérard was named as Arianespace’s Vice President for French Guiana operations in April 2016. In this role, he oversees all Arianespace activities in French Guiana on the three launcher pads for Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega launch vehicles at the Spaceport launch base.

Bruno Gérard joined the company in July 1986 as an engineer in charge of propulsion activities for the Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 launcher versions in operations from the Spaceport’s no. 1 launch pad (ELA 1). He then was assigned various responsibilities as mechanical section manager, technical support department manager, and technical facilities division manager for Ariane 4 on launch pad no. 2 at the Spaceport, and Ariane 5 on the heavy-lift vehicle’s launch pad no. 3.

As project manager, he was in charge of the Soyuz launch system’s installation in French Guiana, leading to the medium-lift vehicle’s first Spaceport launch in 2011. He subsequently served as Vice President for the exploitation of the Arianespace’s launcher family, composed of Ariane, Soyuz and the light-lift Vega launch systems.

Bruno Gérard is a graduate of France’s l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (SupAéro), and has a Master in Fluid Mechanics from the Paris VI University “Pierre et Marie Curie.”

Vice President – Vega Business Unit

Marino Fragnito was named Vice President of Arianespace’s Vega business unit in April 2016, with responsibilities related to the company’s light-lift launch vehicle.

From January 2009 until March 2016 he served at the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) as Launch Services Manager. He previously covered different positions in industry, he began his career in Cannes, at Alcatel Space Industries, as mechanical engineer on telecom satellite projects and then joined ELV (European Launch Vehicle) in 2003 were he was later appointed Head of Mechanical Systems Development in the frame of the Vega development program. Before joining EUMETSAT he was also head of the launcher design department at AVIO.

Marino Fragnito has graduated in Aeronautical Engineering and holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Science and Technology.