Eric Labaye Appointed as Chairman of Eutelsat
Other Changes to the Board Approved at August 4th Meeting
The Board of Directors of Eutelsat has approved the co-optation of Eric Labaye as a Board member and his appointment as Chairman of Eutelsat Communications and Eutelsat SA at the Board Meeting held August 4th, 2025. He succeeds Dominique D’Hinninwho had announced his decision not to seek the renewal of his mandate on February 14th, 2025. Eric Labaye’s appointment was effective August 4th.
"Eutelsat has outstanding fundamentals and unique assets to succeed in the innovative and fast-changing satellite connectivity sector."
Eric Labaye
At the same time, the Board of Directors approved other changes to the composition of the Board, notably the resignation of Michel Combes, effective August 3rd, 2025, and the co-optation of Lucia Sinapi-Thomas as an independent Board member. The Board also acknowledged the appointment of Guillemette Kreis (Agence des Participations de l’Etat - APE) as the representative of the French State.
Following these changes, Eutelsat Communications’ Board of Directors will be composed of 10 members, of which 6 Independent Directors. It will include five women, equating to a representation of 50%.
The above changes take effect immediately. The incoming Chairman, Eric Labaye, will hold office until the next Shareholders General Meeting, where his appointment will be proposed for a full term.
"I want to thank Dominique D’Hinnin for his exemplary leadership of Eutelsat over the past eight years," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Vice-President and Co-Chair of the Board. "Dominique oversaw the merger of Eutelsat and OneWeb that created Eutelsat Group as the first combined GEO/LEO satellite constellation, and ensured there is a European player at the forefront of satellite connectivity globally, including with the Iris² project.
“I welcome the appointment of Eric Labaye as Chairman of Eutelsat Group to preside over the company in its next stage. Eric Labaye is a leader with immense experience that will be invaluable to Eutelsat in the years ahead. I look forward to working with Eric, Lucia and Guillemette and the full board to shape the future of Eutelsat.”
“I’m honored and enthusiastic to join Eutelsat for a new chapter in its development and I want to thank the board members for their trust," said Éric Labaye. "I would like to pay tribute to Dominique D’Hinnin for his critical leadership in the strategic evolutions of the company. Eutelsat has outstanding fundamentals and unique assets to succeed in the innovative and fast-changing satellite connectivity sector. I look forward to working with the board, Jean-François Fallacher and the executive team of Eutelsat to fulfill the company mission."
Labaye has worked for over 30 years for international clients in the telecommunications, high-tech and industrial sectors, as well as governments and public institutions on a variety of strategic and operational issues. He is the president and co-founder of IDEL Partners, an advisory firm focusing on major development and transformation topics. He is also the chairman of the supervisory board of Ekimetrics, a leading AI solutions company, senior advisor at Antin Infrastructure Partners, independent member of the board of Rexel and was appointed in April 2024 Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Investments for the Future in France. From 2018 to 2023, he was the Chairman and President of École Polytechnique, the elite French engineering school and of Institut Polytechnique de Paris, a top 40 global institution, of which he led the creation in 2019. Previously, he was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he was Managing Director of the French office (2002-2010), led the firm’s Global Knowledge and Communication Function as a member of the Global Executive Committee (2010-2013), chaired the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the firm's business and economics research arm (2010-2016) and was a member of the Firm’s board for 9 years. A French national, Eric Labaye is a graduate of École Polytechnique and Télécom Paris and holds an MBA from INSEAD with distinction (Henry Ford II Prize).