MUMBAI: Arianespace has gone in for 36  year old David Cavaillolès to become CEO of the European space rocket launch firm from January 2025.

David has been a rising young  star, starting out in insurance at ACPR as a financial supervision expert after acquiring two masters  degrees, one in sciences, economic, and mathematics followed by another in finance which included actuarial finance. 

He stayed there for a couple of years following which he joined the public sector, first as an inspector of finances for a couple of years for the French government, then as a senior ministerial adviser in the office of  the minister of  education, research and innovation where he was given  charge of space David advised the ministry on its  industrial strategy for launchers and satellites, Newspace, among many other areas.

He held this position for two and a half years before being lured back to the private sector by Capgemini Financial Services where he stayed for five years and theee months, rising from head of ADM Paris  practice to chief sales officer of the French office of Capgemini.

His growth has been rapid throughout his career, especially considering that he was headhunted to lead Arianespace at the young age of 36.

David replaces Stéphane Israël the outgoing  CEO of Arianespace, who has been at the company’s helm since April 2013 and is currently pursuing new opportunities.  As CEO, Stéphane Israël  played a key role in developing the Ariane industrial cluster with the Ariane 6 launcher, and in transforming Arianespace, which became a subsidiary of ArianeGroup in 2017. 

After consolidating the Ariane 5, Vega and Soyuz launcher families and supporting the development of Ariane 6 and Vega C next-generation launchers, Stéphane Israël gave Arianespace’s offering a new direction, transitioning from dual GEO satellite launches to solutions designed for large constellations in low-Earth orbit and the growing diversity of satellites. 

Thanks to these initiatives, Arianespace reached a record rate of 15 launches in 2021 while taking orders for 30 Ariane 6 launches and 15 Vega C launches. Since April 2013, Stephane Israël has supervised 108 launches, including, recently, the emblematic James Webb Telescope (JWST) mission for Nasa and the Juice probe launch for the European Space Agency (ESA).

“Every day I have spent since April 2013 writing this chapter in the history of Arianespace has been a great honor and an extraordinary human adventure,” said Stéphane Israël. “I am pleased to entrust my successor with a company boasting a solid order book to ramp up the launch rate as of 2025. With Ariane 6, Arianespace will be able to capture the opportunities arising in a dynamic and fast-changing market.”

ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion said: “Stéphane has supported Arianespace through major milestones, from the height of Ariane 5’s success to the first flight of Ariane 6. He also worked hard to transform Arianespace in line with ArianeGroup.”