The board of directors of SES has announced its decision to appoint a new president and CEO, and a new CFO as of its next AGM, which takes place on April 5th 2018.
Steve Collar, who is currently CEO of SES Networks, has been appointed as the next president and CEO of SES. Andrew Browne, who was until recently CFO of O3b Networks has been appointed as the next CFO of SES, a role he fulfilled between 2010 and 2013. Over the coming weeks, they will work closely with Karim Michel Sabbagh, the current president and CEO, and Padraig McCarthy, the current CFO, in order to ensure a smooth handover.
Steve Collar has been named as the company’s new president and CEO.
The board accepted Sabbagh’s decision to step down from his role as president and CEO, with effect from the next AGM, in order to spend time with his family and to pursue new interests. McCarthy has informed the board of his intention to retire during 2018 and it has been agreed that he will also step down from his current role at the next AGM—he will remain at the disposal of the company thereafter.
The other members of the executive committee all remain in place. A successor to Steve Collar as CEO of SES Networks will be appointed in due course.
Analyst Comment
There’s a lot going on at SES at high levels, partly because, I suspect, the company’s share price, along with that of Eutelsat has been hit recently, with more and more concern that the days of satellite broadcasting may be numbered. The recent news that Sky would make ‘everything’ available over broadband won’t have helped, as Sky is one of the firm’s largest broadcast customers. For the last three months, the share price has been around €12 to €14, compared to €23 last June and more than €35 in 2015. My own perception from meeting with SES at IBC etc, is that the company is making some good efforts to diversify its business away from just broadcast TV, but, clearly, not all investors are convinced. (BR)
