European Space Forum 2023

Miguel Belló is the Commissioner for Aerospace Recovery Plan at the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, with responsibility of a 4,5 B€ program for the sector and the implementation of
the Spanish Space Agency. He was also CEO of the Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre),international non-profit organization to develop scientific and technological applications in the Atlantic region with Headquarters in Azores Islands (Portugal). Miguel has been entrepreneur in the European Space sector involved in the management of International Space Programs and Institutions with 40 years of experience in the space sector. Promoter of the DEIMOS 1 (launch 2009) and DEIMOS 2 (launch 2014) Earth Observation satellites and responsible of its operations and downstream applications.

Miguel was founder and CEO of all companies in DEIMOS Group in Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania and Italy. He is expert in Space Systems Engineering, Earth Observation systems and applications, Mission Analysis, Flight Dynamics, Interplanetary Mission Design and Space Debris.

Miguel holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the Flugmechanik Institut, Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany), in 1993, a M.S. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering, at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, in 1983, with end of Studies Honour Award and a General Management Programme (MBA), in 2000-2001, at IESE (Madrid).

Miguel is member of the Board of Trustees and Full Member for Section 2 (Engineering Sciences) of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), Member of the Astrodynamics Committee of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Chairman of the Mission and Constellation Design Session of the IAC Astrodynamics Symposium and member of the Space Traffic Management Committee of the IAA. Miguel was also Member of the European Space Agency Space Debris Advisory Group (SDAG) and Invited Professor on Space Debris Environment at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid and Celestial Mechanics at La Sapienza University in Rome.

Isabelle Mauro is Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) that represents the interests of 29 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.

Under Isabelle’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society – vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.

Isabelle has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of  Information, Communications and Technology Industries, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.

Isabelle is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education.

Isabelle holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.

Ambassador Sorin Dumitru Ducaru is the Director of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) since June 2019. He has been appointed by the SatCen Board represented by the 28 EU member states and subsequently appointed by Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the Commission for this position.

Ambassador Ducaru is a Romanian career diplomat with a longstanding experience in trans-Atlantic and International Relations and a particular expertise in the field of emerging security challenges and the impact of new technologies upon security. Ambassador Ducaru’s professional background reflects a quite rare blend of technical and political studies. Holding degrees in Applied Electronics & Computer Studies (BS, Bucharest Polytechnic University), Political Science & International Relations (M.Phil, University of Amsterdam) and International Economic Relations and Institutional Management (Ph.D, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest). He has been intensely engaged intellectually and professionally bridging the technology-policy gap and the impact of technology upon security.

Ambassador Ducaru held the post of NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges from September 2013 to November 2017. In this capacity he was the head of the Emerging Security Challenges Division at NATO-HQ, Chair of the Cyber Defence Committee and also coordinator and manager NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme. As Chair of NATO’s Cyber Defence Committee and Cyber Defence Management Board, he has been in charge of NATO’s cyber policy development and implementation.

Sorin Ducaru held three ambassadorial positions on behalf of Romanian, namely at the UN in New York, in Washington DC and at NATO in Brussels. He also assumed various positions in the Romanian MFA, such as: counsellor to the Minister, spokesman of the MFA, Director of the Minister’s Office and Director for NATO and Strategic Issues.  He has been also involved in academic and scientific activity as guest lecturer at the NATO Defence College, Rome; Oxford University, UK; Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA; Leiden University, NL and as associate professor at the Romanian National University for Political Studies and Public Administration. He has also been a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC, USA, chair of the Scientific Board of  the NEW Strategy Centre, Romania and a Special Advisor to the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. In the year 2008 Ambassador Ducaru was awarded the rank of Knight of the National Order “The Star of Romania”.

Benedikta von Seherr-Thoß is Managing Director for CSDP at the European External Action Service. Until October 2022, she served as Security Policy Director of the German Federal Ministry of Defence (MoD), dealing inter alia with bilateral relations, NATO, EU, nuclear policy as well as coordinating the MoD’s work on a new German National Security Strategy. From 2017, she was EU Representative of the German Ministry of Defence and Head of the EU Division in the Department for Security Policy for four years. She also had the ministerial lead on Germany’s EU Council Presidency in 2-2020. Prior to that, she worked as Political Advisor to Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen for two years. From 2013-15, she was the first defence civilian to participate in the National General/Admiral Staff Officer Course of the Bundeswehr. Before that, she spent more than two years working as Senior Political Advisor and then Deputy Director to the NATO Senior Civilian Representative at ISAF Headquarters in Kabul/Afghanistan. From 2007-11 she functioned as Deputy Head of the NATO Division in the Policy Planning & Advisory Staff to the Minister of Defence, focusing on the Alliance, transatlantic issues and nuclear policy. She started her career at NATO Headquarters in 2004, where she worked as Desk Officer in the Political Affairs & Security Policy Division. Benedikta studied Modern History at the University of Oxford, from where she graduated with a Masters and a PhD. 

Evert Dudok has been Executive Vice President of Connected Intelligence since the creation of Airbus Defence and Space in 2014. He is a member of the Airbus Defence and Space Executive Committee.

Prior to that, he was the CEO of EADS Astrium Services, a Member of the Board of Directors of Astrium, and Chairman of the Managing Board of Astrium GmbH. He was also previously CEO of Astrium Satellites and President of Space Transportation at Astrium.

Dudok began his long career in the aerospace, defence, and security industries as a development engineer at MBB (later DASA, the former aerospace subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG). He focused on antenna products and technologies for space applications for the first 10 years of his career, before increasingly taking on more commercial and strategic roles. After the creation of Astrium in 2000, Dudok took over the role of Director of the Business Unit Navigation & Constellations, which shortly after broadened to encompass all of the Earth Observation, Navigation & Science satellite activities.

Having spent the bulk of his career based in Germany, Evert Dudok is a recognised figure in German and European discussions around space activities. Since 2015, Dudok is a board member of Jenoptik AG.

Evert Dudok is a Dutch citizen, born in Venlo, the Netherlands in 1959. He obtained his degree in Electrical Engineering Summa Cum Laude from the Technical University of Eindhoven in 1984. He speaks Dutch, English, and German fluently, and has been known to stumble his way through a few speeches in French as well. He is a proud grandfather, father of two sons, and husband. He and his wife have been married for over 30 years. In his free time, Dudok can be most often found enjoying nature, traveling with family, skiing, or diving.

Matija Rencelj is the Research Manager at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI). His work focuses on inter-institutional relations, and European and global policy developments, with studies undertaken on topics ranging from orbital carrying capacity to the history of commercial space. He previously worked with the European Space Agency, the European Commission, in the aviation and commodities sectors, and started his career as a lawyer at a corporate law firm. He holds an LL.M. in Air & Space Law from McGill University and a Law Degree from the University of Ljubljana. At ESPI, he first served as Research Fellow for two years, before taking on the responsibility to oversee the Institute’s research output, manage day-to-day operations, and translate the Institute’s work to real-world impact.

Raúl Verdú is Co-founder and Chief Business Development of PLD SPACE with training in Industrial Engineering and more than 10 years of experience in the space industry.

PLD Space is a pioneering Spanish company in the aerospace sector and a leading reference within Europe in the development of reusable rockets, with a recognized prestige in the sector and a solid project that has become a reality through its launch vehicles: the technological demonstrator MIURA 1 and MIURA 5 orbital rockets. 

His capabilities range from team management to the execution of high-end investor relations, business development and strategic industrial R&D projects from their concept, design, legalization and execution.

Raúl has obtained, together with his partner Raúl Torres, more than €65M in financing for the development and scale up of PLD Space. 

He has been awarded with the Plaque of Honor by Spanish Scientific Association and recognized by the American association KAIROS SOCIETY as one of the 100 most influential entrepreneurs in the world. Recently, he has also been recognized by Forbes among the 100 most creative people in Business. 

Born 27 April 1982, Christophe Venet is a graduate of the political studies institute (IEP) of Strasbourg and holds a Master’s degree in Peace Studies and International Politics from the University of Tübingen (Germany).

He began his career as a researcher with think tanks, at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in 2009 and then the Space programme at IFRI, the French international relations institute, in 2010. In this role, he published more than 30 articles and co-edited two books on space policy.

In 2012, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was in charge of space within the Business and International Economics Directorate. Here, he helped to execute economic diplomacy for the space sector and sat on the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the board of Eutelsat IGO.

Christophe Venet joined CNES in 2015 as space advisor in France’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels. He sat on the Space and GNSS working parties of the Council of the EU and was involved with the EU’s legislative work in the field of space.

In 2018, he was appointed head of the agency’s European and International Affairs sub-directorate and subsequently Deputy Director of Planning, International affairs and Quality.

Christophe Venet took up his post as Director of European and International affairs effective 1 January 2021.

Alessandro Grasso currently is the Project Manager for Earth Observation at the Luxembourg Space Agency. As part of his role he is responsible for the Earth Observation activities at the agency, as well as being the Luxembourg delegate to the ESA Programme Board on Earth Observation and to the European Commission Copernicus Space Programme Committee.

Alessandro holds a master degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bristol and a Master of Space studies from the International Space University.

Previously he has worked almost a decade in the European space industry, first with OHB System AG in Germany and then with Airbus Defence and Space in the UK. During this time he was project manager and systems engineer for the definition of large scale European and national space projects such as ESA’s Earth Explorers and the Copernicus missions.

Mauro Facchini is Italian and has an engineering background with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

Before joining the European Commission he has worked in Italy, UK and Switzerland, mostly in the academic and research environment.

He joined the European Commission in 2002, initially as supervisor of research projects. Then he has been involved in Space aspects and participated to the definition of the European Space Policy from its early days in concluding agreements with ESA and in drafting and including article 189 (EU Space Competence) in the Lisbon Treaty.

He has been Head of the Space Research Unit for the EU financing of space activities and then Head for the development and implementation of the European Earth observation programme initially known as GMES and later Copernicus. He is currently the Head of Unit in charge for Earth Observation at the European Commission.

Simonetta Cheli took up duty as Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN (D/EOP) on 1 January 2022.

Born in Siena, Italy, she studied law and economics at Yale University in the United States, before gaining a degree in political sciences with a thesis on international satellite telecommunication law at the University ‘Cesare Alfieri’ in Florence, Italy. She also holds a diploma of advanced studies (DEA) from the Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques (CEDS) in Paris.

Simonetta Cheli has worked at ESA for over three decades, both at Headquarters in Paris and at ESRIN, and in various roles since 15 years within the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.

She joined ESA in 1988, working in International Relations, Programme and Strategy, then moved to ESRIN in 1999 as Head of Public and Institutional Relations covering Italy, Spain and Portugal. In 2008, she returned to Paris as Head of the Coordination Office for Earth Observation.

Before her selection as Director of Earth Observation, Ms Cheli was serving as Head of the Strategy, Programme and Coordination Office for Earth Observation, coordinating relations with international partners in the field of environment and climate, and with ESA Member States and the European Union, managing the Programme Board of Earth Observation, and relations with European Partners like Eumetsat and ECMWF. She teaches Masters courses on space, she is a member of various international committees and has received many awards.

Christophe Grudler is a French Member of the European Parliament (MEP), member of the Renew Europe group.

Historian and journalist by training, his political commitment started at an early stage of his career. He is particularly involved at the local level in his hometown, Belfort, where he has been elected as a local representative several times.

Within the European Parliament, he is Vice-Coordinator of the ITRE Committee (Industry, research and energy) for the Renew Europe group. He is also a member of the Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Security and Defence (SEDE) committees. Furthermore, he is Vice President of the Sky & Space Intergroup of the European Parliament.

MEP Grudler is particularly involved on energy and industry related topics, as well as on space and defence policies. He has been appointed as rapporteur for the European Parliament on the Initiative report on Energy System Integration and recently on the future European secure connectivity. He is also shadow rapporteur for his group on the European Industrial Strategy, the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and on the European Space Programme.

Ruy Pinto was appointed Chief Technology Officer of SES in January 2019.

Ruy joined SES from Inmarsat where he spent two and a half decades in various technical and managerial roles, including two years as CTO of the company. His last three years with Inmarsat were spent in the role of Group Chief Operations Officer, where he was responsible for all operational functions.

His portfolio includes two years as the Chairman of UKSpace, the UK space industry trade association, and four years as a Director and VP of Space for the Association of Defence, Security and Aerospace Companies (ADS). Ruy also recently completed a six-year appointment as Non-Executive Director of the Satellite Application Catapult, established by the UK government to foster the development of space applications in the UK. Previously, he worked with VSAT data communications networks and data communications software.

Ruy has dual British/Brazilian nationality, holds a degree in Electronics Engineering, and has completed post-graduate studies in Digital Telecommunications Systems from the Rio de Janeiro Catholic University (PUC-RJ).

Koen Willems holds the position of VP EU Programs and Government Relations at ST Engineering iDirect Europe, a market leader in satellite communication technologies. Koen provides his expertise in EU government programs through the Belgian legal entity (proxy) organisation ST Engineering iDirect (Europe) CY NV leveraging the EU footprint and installed base in ground segment satellite networks (www.idirect.net/st-engineering-idirect-europe). On top of his EU activities, Koen defines and develops ST Engineering iDirect’s global strategy for the government and defense market.

Koen Willems has more than 25 years’ experience working in the technology industry. Before joining ST Engineering iDirect in 2008 he was Product Marketing Manager for Europe at the electronics giant TOSHIBA.

Koen has a master’s degree in English and Scandinavian Languages from Ghent University and a master’s degree in Marketing Strategy and Management from Vlekho Business School.

His expertise in the government and defense satellite market has grown through the involvement in different large (EU) programs as well as frequent interactions with the end-user community and a range of topic-related degrees such as the ‘High Studies in Security and Defence’ degree at the Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defence, the ‘European Session for Armament Officials’ degree at the French National Institute of Higher Defense and the ‘European Advanced Strategy Course on Security and Defense’ degree at the Egmont Institute, IHEDN and BAKS.

You may know Koen as a GovDef satcom technology evangelist through his regular appearance in editorials in satellite focused publications, white papers and speaking slots at conferences around the world.

Dominic works on frequency regulatory and international topics at the European Commission in the directorate general responsible for the EU Space Programme, DG DEFIS. He joined the Commission and the Galileo programme in 2007 after working in the UK for Ofcom and the Radiocommunications Agency on satellite navigation and mobile satellite topics. His work now encompasses all components of the EU Space Programme, including Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus and the new Secure Connectivity initiative.

Vini Aloia is the Space Policy and Regulation Manager for Astroscale UK. Vini is responsible for all management and implementation of Astroscale UK’s space policy and regulatory activities, including space system licensing activities and overseeing space policy initiatives and tasks associated with Astroscale’s space projects. Prior to joining Astroscale, Vini worked as Legal and Regulatory Officer at ispace EUROPE S.A., as Associate Legal Counsel at SES S.A., and as a trainee at the European Space Agency (ESA). Vini holds two degrees from the International Space University, an LL.M Master of International and Comparative Law, International Business Law from the University of Helsinki, and a LL.B Bachelor of Laws from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Vinicius is a member of the International Institute of Space Law, a member of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL), a member and coordinator of the Space Law Research Centre at the NOVA Law School in Portugal, an invited member of the Commission on Space Law of the Brazilian Bar Association (Santos), a full member of the Brazilian Bar Association, and the director of International Cooperation of the Space Law and Policy Research Group at the Catholic University of Santos, Brazil. Vini is the author of international publications and presentations on topics related to space law and policy and commercialisation of space activities, including the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, on-orbit servicing and active debris removal, exploration and use of space resources, national space legislation, and export control.

Bio to be added soon.

Representing the voice of the European space industry for almost six years as Policy Manager at ASD-Eurospace, Charles Galland has developed a broad expertise in all European space-related policies issues.

Since September 2021 Mr. Kautz is Head of Unit for Secure Connectivity, Space Surveillance and Applications in DG Defence Industry and Space of the European Commission. In 2020 he was Head of Unit (acting) for Space Research, Innovation and Startups.

Between 2013 and 2019 Mr. Kautz was Deputy Head of Unit for Galileo and EGNOS – Applications, Security and International Cooperation. Before that and since joining the Commission in 2000 he held several positions dealing with a variety of industry and Internal Market issues. Prior to the Commission, he worked for 6 years as public affairs consultant.

Mr. Kautz holds a degree in History and Politics, as well as a Master in European Studies from the College of Europe.

Rolf Densing took up duty as Director of Operations (D/OPS), and Head of ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany, on 1 January 2016.

Rolf Densing has been working in the space sector for more than 25 years. He graduated with a doctorate in physics from the University of Bonn in 1988. After completing his studies at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, he began his scientific career as Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, USA.

From 1992 to 1995, he worked as a project manager in the space science programme of the former German space agency DARA (now DLR, the German Aerospace Center). Among other things, he worked on a series of scientific missions with the German Astro-SPAS platform, which flew on several Space Shuttle missions.

In 1996, Rolf Densing took on a managerial role as US Representative in the DARA/DLR Washington Office, then three years later he moved to DLR headquarters in Cologne as Head of the Executive Office. From 2003 onwards, he headed the ESA Affairs department at the DLR Space Administration until the DLR Senate appointed him Director of Programmes in 2009.

Before joining ESA, Rolf Densing was the Director of Space Programmes at the DLR Space Administration, where he was responsible for Germany’s involvement in the ESA’s research, technology and infrastructure programmes. He contributed to national space strategy at programmatic and policy level, including the evolution of space operations centres in Germany.

Chia Manfletti is the Director and Chief Operating Officer at Neuraspace and the Professor of Space Propulsion and Mobility at the Technical University of Munich. At the early stage of her career, she worked for the German Aerospace Center, DLR, as a research engineer and later joined the European Space Agency (ESA), where she was the Programme Advisor to the Director General at the agency’s headquarters in Paris. She was nominated as the first President of the then just founded Portuguese national space agency, Portugal Space. During her professional tenure, Chiara later headed the Policy and Programmes Coordination department at the ESA prior to joining Neuraspace. 

Chiara is an eminent speaker and was a part of some of the most sought-after global space conferences:

• 14th and 15th European Space Conference, Brussels
• Satshow 2022, Washington DC
• 5th New Space Atlantic Summit, Aveiro (Portugal Space and European Space Agency)
• World Satellite Business Week, Paris
• Silicon Valley Space Week, Mountain View
• Space Tech Expo Europe, Bremen
• Portugal Air Summit
• EDP DSPA Insights Conference

She is bestowed with the title of the “Mother of the Space Safety and Security Programmatic Pillar of ESA” and the “Creator of EuRoC.” 

Chiara has a Doctorate (Dr. -Ing) degree in Engineering from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, a Master’s Degree in Space Studies (MSS) from International Space University (ISU), Strasbourg, France, and holds a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Aeronautical Engineering from  Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London, UK.   

Chiara Manfletti has dual Italian and German nationality and loves hiking high mountains, photography, beekeeping, ornithology, and constructing IoT devices. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube

In 2016, Alexander founded the company ENPULSION, which quickly established itself as an industry standard in the field of electric propulsion systems for SmallSats. He started his career in the space business with Beyond Gravity, formerly known as RUAG Space, working in Thermal Hardware and later in Mechanical Engineering on projects like Sentinel or Bepi Colombo. He then joined the Austrian Institute of Technology and became the Team Leader for Electric Propulsion Systems. In 2013, he became Department Head shortly after it was moved to FOTEC, the research subsidiary of the Wiener Neustadt University of Applied Sciences and doubled its size. His personal expertise covers hydrogen-based energy systems, as well as electric propulsion technologies. After graduating from the Technical University of Vienna with a Dpl.Ing. (MSc) in Physics, he started a PhD programme at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), then followed his supervisor to the Technical University of Dresden to complete the programme.

Yohann Bénard is Amazon’s Public Policy Director EU Digital & France. He started his career in blue chip French governmental bodies, serving as judge with the Council of State, then advisor to the Prime Minister and deputy chief of staff to Economy & Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. Before joining Amazon, Yohann held senior business and corporate roles in the telecom industry (Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia).

Christopher Johnson is the Space Law Advisor at the Secure World Foundation, and a Professor of Law (Adjunct) at the Georgetown University Law Center where he co-teaches the Space Law Seminar.  Mr. Johnson is also a Core Expert and Rule Drafter in the MILAMOS project, an observer at the Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group, a Field Editor at the Journal of Space Safety Engineering, on the Board of Editors of the journal Air and Space Law, on the Academic Review Board of the Cambridge International Law Journal, and serves on the US Board of Directors of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). Mr. Johnson has written widely on space law and policy issues, and represents the Secure World Foundation at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Sara Dalledonne is a Research Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) with a Lead on Regulatory Affairs. She is also the Space Law expert reference at the University of Bologna, Italy, and a Member of the Support Committee for the Aviation & Space Journal (ASJ). Prior to joining ESPI, she worked at the Institute of Air and Space Law (McGill University) as a Research Assistant. She holds an L.L.M. in Air and Space Law from McGill University, an L.L.M. in International Trade Law from the International Training Centre of the ILO (University of Turin) and a 5-year Law degree from the University of Bologna. She also completed an ITU Training Course in Satellite Coordination Procedures and Fillings.

James Cemmell is Vice President Government Engagement at Inmarsat and is active on government agendas including innovation, space policy, and international affairs. James has an MBA from the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School (academic prize); an MA International Development BCID; Certificate of Advanced Studies, International Trade Regulation, World Trade Institute; and is a policy fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP). Interests include space policy, international development, and mathematics.

Niklas Nienass is Member of the European Parliament for The Greens/EFA, where he is responsible for space policy. A strong supporter of the European new space economy, he is committed to establish a European space law and set international standards for space traffic management. He has a seat in the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), where he negotiates space related legislative files on behalf of the Greens/EFA group. In 2020 he graduated with a Master’s degree on Good Governance with a thesis on international space law.

In addition, Niklas is also member of the Committees on Regional Development (REGI), Culture and Education (CULT) and Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). He is co-founder of the Cultural Creators Friendship Group, the RUMRA & Smart Village Intergroup and the Youth Interest Group. Last but not least, he is also a member of the European Parliament Delegations for Central Asia and Mongolia and Afghanistan.

Guillaume de La Brosse is currently Head of Unit in charge of space innovation, start-ups and economics in the Commission (Direction-General for Defence Industry and Space). Previously, Guillaume was assistant to the Director-General.

Guillaume joined the Commission in 2016, as member of the Commission’s think-tank and member of the UK Task Force, where he dealt with security, defence and space.

Before joining the Commission, Guillaume worked in the European Defence Agency as assistant to the Executive Director (2011-2016) and as pol-mil adviser in the French Permanent representation to the EU (2006-2011).

Guillaume de La Brosse is currently Head of Unit in charge of space innovation, start-ups and economics in the Commission (Direction-General for Defence Industry and Space). Previously, Guillaume was assistant to the Director-General.

Guillaume joined the Commission in 2016, as member of the Commission’s think-tank and member of the UK Task Force, where he dealt with security, defence and space.

Before joining the Commission, Guillaume worked in the European Defence Agency as assistant to the Executive Director (2011-2016) and as pol-mil adviser in the French Permanent representation to the EU (2006-2011).

Olivier has a long-standing experience and a strong network in the European space policy sector, at the crossroads of the private and the public sector.

He has been part of the Belgian delegation to the ESA Council and also advising the Belgian Permanent Representation on space matters, under the authority of E. Beka, High representative of Belgium for space policy. Olivier then moved to Eurospace, as Head of the Brussels Office until 2014, when he has been hired by Thales Alenia Space as director for EU affairs.