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Governance

The Group’s holding company, ArianeGroup Holding, is jointly owned (50%/50%) by Airbus and Safran. It was founded in 2016 through the merger of its shareholders’ civil and defence space launch systems activities; it has two operating subsidiaries, one in France (ArianeGroup SAS) and one in Germany (ArianeGroup GmbH), and subsidiaries and affiliates. The Group is led by an Executive Committee responsible for implementing the strategic directions defined by the Board of Directors and its shareholders.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors reports to ArianeGroup Holding’s shareholders. It decides the Group’s strategic directions and oversees their implementation. It approves major decisions proposed by the CEO of ArianeGroup and its Executive Committee.

Six directors sit on the Board, three proposed by Safran and three by Airbus. A representative of the French state and a French government commissioner also attend the Board’s meetings.

The Board of Directors is assisted by a number of committees made up of directors and experts: the Audit, Risks, Finance and Compliance Committee, the Appointments and Compensation Committee, the Strategy Committee, the Civil Programmes Committee, and the France Special-interests Committee.

Directors

Matthieu Louvot

Chairman of the Board of Directors of ArianeGroup Holding; Head of Strategy, Airbus

Pascal Bantégnie

Chief Financial Officer, Safran

Eric Dalbiès

Senior Executive Vice President R&T and Innovation, Safran

Stéphane Dubois

Executive Vice President, Corporate Human and Social Responsibility, Safran

Thomas Toepfer

Chief Financial Officer, Airbus

Jesus de Miguel

Executive Vice President Finance, Airbus Defence and Space

French state representative

Benoit Laroche de Roussane

Director Defence Industry, French Defence Procurement Agency

French government commissioner

Eric Méresse

Comptroller General of the French Armed Forces, Armaments control, operational readiness and exports group

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee ensures that ArianeGroup’s strategic vision is applied and that the Group’s objectives are met. It defines and implements roadmaps, and manages the Group’s operations.

Martin Sion

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Martin Sion

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

After graduating from the École Centrale de Paris and a spell at Sandia National Laboratories in the United States, Martin Sion joined Société Européenne de Propulsion (SEP) in 1990, where he held various engineering positions. In 2005, he became head of the Technical Department of Snecma’s Space Engines Division. He was subsequently appointed head of the Improvement Strategy Department at Snecma (now Safran Aircraft Engines) and, in 2009, head of the “Build-up and Equipment” Industrial Excellence Centre. From 2010 to 2013, he headed the company’s Space Engines division. He then joined Aircelle (now Safran Nacelles) in 2013 as CEO, and in 2015, he was appointed Chairman of Safran Electronics & Defense. Martin Sion has been a member of ArianeGroup’s Board of Directors since 2020, and became the company’s CEO in 2023.

Vincent Pery

Director Defence Programmes

Vincent Pery

Director Defence Programmes

Vincent Pery began his career at Aerospatiale in 1996. After several assignments to technical and management positions in the space sector, he led the developpment and implementation of a technical and technological roadmap on hypervelocity. Appointed Head of Re-entry Systems and Strategic Intelligence in 2011, he was an auditor for the 50th IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale) session on armament and defence economics. Vincent came to ArianeGroup in 2015 as “maintaining the operational condition of the M51 strategic weapon system” Programme Manager before taking over management of M51 Service Programmes in July 2018.

Philippe Clar

Director Space Transportation Programmes

Philippe Clar

Director Space Transportation Programmes

After graduating as an engineer from École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique (ENSAE, now ISAE-SUPAERO) and two years of research at Stanford University in the USA, Philippe Clar began his career at Astrium where he held various technical positions on programmes (Ariane, ATV, ARD), and then management positions in the advanced projects (1998) and business development departments. In 2002, he was appointed head of the missile defence programme, and in 2006 he took charge of the new generation ballistic missile programme. In 2011, he became advisor to the CEO of Astrium Space Transportation for European launcher sector restructuring. In 2013, he was appointed head of Space System Defence Programmes at Airbus Defence and Space, before joining ArianeGroup as head of Defence Programmes in 2016 and now head of Civil Programmes.

David Cavaillolès

Arianespace Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

David Cavaillolès

Arianespace Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

David Cavaillolès began his career in the French public sector holding positions of responsibility in the finance, innovation and industry sectors. He was appointed ministerial advisor for French space policy in 2017, working notably on securing the Ariane programme and preparing the future of space launchers in Europe. He then joined Capgemini in 2019 where he held various management positions contributing to the company’s business development, with a specific focus on technology. He is a graduate of prestigious French higher education institutes Ecole Polytechnique and ENSAE Paris. He joined ArianeGroup in 2025 as CEO of Arianespace and member of ArianeGroup’s Executive Committee.

Hervé Gilibert

Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

Hervé Gilibert

Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

A graduate of École Polytechnique and École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique (ENSAE, now ISAE-SUPAERO), Hervé Gilibert started out at Aérospatiale as a ballistic missile guidance and control system design engineer. After working on various defence system preliminary designs and then leading the team in charge of those activities, in 1998 he led the programme to upgrade the Air Operations Command and Control System on behalf of the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency (DGA) and the French Air Force. From 2002 to 2010, he was responsible for the Ariane 5 development programmes at Astrium Space Transportation and became Chief Technical and Quality Officer in 2011. He then headed up the Space System Technical Directorate at Airbus Defence and Space. At the end of 2014, he joined ArianeGroup as Chief Technical and Quality Officer. Since 2021, his role as CTO has included managing the engineering and design office teams who design and implement ArianeGroup’s civil and military launch systems.

Jens Franzeck

Chief Industrial Officer (CIO)

Jens Franzeck

Chief Industrial Officer (CIO)

Dr Jens Franzeck graduated as an engineer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and holds a PhD in process engineering from the University of Stuttgart. He began his career as an R&D engineer at Mercedes-Benz, and in 1998 he joined the Daimler-Benz Group’s aerospace division, DASA. In 2002, he became head of Cabin Procurements for Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft Division, taking responsibility for the long-haul aircraft programme (cabin and fuselage) in 2005. In 2009, he went on to manage the Ariane 5 operations programme at Astrium, and then production and testing for Airbus Defence and Space’s space activities in 2014. The following year, he took charge of the A400M military transport aircraft operations, and then managed engineering integration in 2017, before becoming head of physical design engineering in 2020. He joined ArianeGroup as Chief Industrial Officer in 2024.

Akilles Loudière

Chief Quality, Performance & Digital Officer

Akilles Loudière

Chief Quality, Performance & Digital Officer

A graduate of École Polytechnique and Télécom ParisTech, Akilles Loudière began his career in 2005 at Lucent Technologies before joining the French Ministry for Industry where he was adviser to the Minister from 2010 to 2012. A French–German national, he worked at the European Commission from 2012 to 2014, then joined automotive supplier Forvia where he held various positions in continuous improvement, supply chain and production before becoming Chief Sales Officer of the Volkswagen business unit. In 2018 he joined Safran as CEO of Safran Cabin Germany. He has been ArianeGroup’s Chief Transformation & Digital Officer since 2021.

Pierre Godart

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Pierre Godart

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Pierre Godart is a French–German national who holds a degree in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) from the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany. He joined the DASA Group in 1992 and after holding a number of positions in the helicopter division, he became Chief Financial Officer of LFK GmbH (Lenkflugkörpersysteme), a subsidiary specialising in guided missiles. In 2006 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Military Air Systems unit, responsible for military combat and transport aircraft within the EADS Group’s Defence Division. In 2011 he became Head of Finance and Management Control for the Defence Division’s programmes and operations. He joined the Astrium Space Division in 2013 as CFO. Since 2015 he has been ArianeGroup’s Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice-President of ArianeGroup Holding and CEO of ArianeGroup GmbH.

Cornelia Thieme

Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)

Cornelia Thieme

Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)

After graduating in Business Economics from the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen and in business, administration and finance from the École Supérieure de Commerce in Toulouse, Cornelia Thieme joined Airbus Germany, before moving to Airbus Industrie, where she managed the consortium’s resources. In 1997, she became head of HR for the design office at DASA, then in 2001, as part of the Airbus creation project team, she organised and managed the senior executives’ compensation system. In 2007, she became head of Organisational Development and Compensation and Benefits at Airbus (now Airbus Commercial Aircraft), before taking charge of Human Resources at Astrium Services in 2013. When Airbus Defence and Space was founded, she was responsible for HR and transformation for Connected Intelligence and also took charge of HR in the UK in 2018. She joined ArianeGroup in early 2024.

Sarah-pearl Bokobza

Chief Communication Officer

Sarah-pearl Bokobza

Chief Communication Officer

Sarah-pearl Bokobza joined ArianeGroup as Chief Communication Officer in 2024. She had previously been Group Head of Communications and Marketing for A2MAC1, world leader in competitive analysis for the automotive sector, a post she held from 2021. With over 20 years’ experience in communication in both the private and public sectors, she has worked in all areas of communication – internal, external, influence, social media, crisis communication and branding. From government ministries to international business, she has considerable experience of operating in evolving environments and complex organisations.

Cécilia Matissart

Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer (CSO)

Cécilia Matissart

Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer (CSO)

Holding a postgraduate diploma in Banking and Finance from the University Paris II (Assas), Cécilia Matissart began her career in the Capital Markets department at Crédit National, with responsibility for creating and structuring financial transactions. En 1997 she joined the equity issues department of Natixis Capital, before moving to the Banque Populaire group, where she was in charge of financial communications for Natixis Banques Populaires. In 2006 she became Head of Investor Relations for Natixis. She joined the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) in 2009 as Head of the Banking, Insurance & Bond Department in Issuer Services. In 2008, she became Vice President of Financial Communication for Safran Group, before joining ArianeGroup in 2023 as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer.

Franck Huiban

General Secretary

Franck Huiban

General Secretary

A graduate of École Polytechnique and École des Mines in Paris, Franck Huiban began his career in industry at Elf Atochem, and then Alcatel in China, before joining the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) in 2001. As an expert in risk management, he became advisor to the French ecology and transport ministers. He joined EADS in 2008 as advisor to the Group’s CEO and went on to become sales director at Astrium Space Transportation in 2010, and then Airbus Defence and Space. In 2014, he was involved in the creation of ArianeGroup and the launch of the Ariane 6 programme, before leading the company’s transformation plan. He became head of launcher programmes in 2019 and was in charge of ArianeGroup’s civil programmes from 2021 before taking up the post of Secretary General in 2025.

Alexandre Ramat

Acting Chief Procurement Officer

Alexandre Ramat

Acting Chief Procurement Officer

After graduating from the Ecole Centrale in Paris and earning an MBA from EMLyon Business School, Alexandre Ramat began his career at EDF, before moving to Alstom, where he held several managerial roles, including Multi-Site Purchasing Manager. In 2004, he joined Markem-Imaje in the advanced manufacturing industry to oversee the Group’s Purchasing and Supplier Quality departments. He then went on to manage a subsidiary in the industrial inspection and risk sector. In 2010, Alexandre entered the defence sector at Naval Group where he contributed to a Purchasing Transformation project. In 2013, he became Head of Operations at the Cahors group, with a focus on India and Asia. Since 2021, he has been working as a Consultant Director, specialising in Purchasing projects.

Group and Subsidiaries

ArianeGroup is based on an integrated organisation of ArianeGroup Holding and its two operating subsidiaries, ArianeGroup SAS in France and ArianeGroup GmbH in Germany, and on six subsidiaries specialising in space and defence equipment and services.

David Cavaillolès

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Yohann Leroy

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Edwin Vermeulen

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Michael Mamou

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Thibault Cheviron

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Vincent Dedieu

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Ethics Charter

Honesty, integrity, transparency and professional excellence constitute the guiding principles for the employees of ArianeGroup and its subsidiaries in their daily activities. Through its Ethics Charter, the Group is firmly committed to developing all its projects in accordance with strong ethical standards, and to working with partners who share the same values.

Download the Ethics Charter

Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct

ArianeGroup has a Code of Conduct that is central to its zero-tolerance policy as regards corruption. ArianeGroup and its subsidiaries comply with applicable anti-corruption regulations and have designed processes and controls tailored to their business sectors. In particular, the Code describes concrete scenarios involving risks of corruption and influence peddling, and lays down the conduct to be adopted should these situations arise.

Download the Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct

Whistleblowing System

The whistleblowing system enables employees and external stakeholders to report any facts or behaviour that are contrary to regulations and ethical principles without fear of reprisal. Anyone may use the dedicated web platform to raise a concern, including anonymously, in accordance with the procedure available on the same website.

Link to the platform https://ag.1signal.net/

Personal Data Policy

ArianeGroup is firmly committed to protecting privacy and the confidentiality and security of personal data, both within the Group and among its subcontractors. These commitments are met through a set of specific measures, in compliance with European regulations on the protection of personal data (GDPR) (European Regulation 2016/679 of 26 April 2016 on the protection of personal data and the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, as amended).

Read the Personal Data Policy