Eutelsat Appoints Antoine Castarède as Chief Financial Officer

PARIS, July 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Group organisation strengthened with the nomination of Raphaël Mussalian as Chief Technical Officer and David Bair (former CTO) as CEO of Eutelsat America

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced appointments that further strengthen its management and optimise the distribution of skills across the Group.

Antoine Castarède will join Eutelsat on September 1 as the Group's Chief Financial Officer (CFO). With over 20 years experience of financial management in the telecoms and high-tech industries, in France and internationally, he comes to Eutelsat from Oger Telecom, a leading emerging market telecom operator and majority owner of Turk Telekom, where he has been CFO since 2006, based in Dubai. His achievements in this role include the successful execution of major financing transactions, the development of businesses in the Middle East and in other emerging markets and the setting-up of finance activities in line with international best practice. Prior to Oger Telecom, Antoine developed his broad financial skills for over 15 years at France Télécom where appointments included CFO of Orange France from 2003 to 2006,  deputy head of France Telecom M&A, and international business development functions. He is a French national and graduate of the ESCP business school.

Following Antoine's appointment, Ariane Rossi, Director of Accounting, Controlling & Corporate Finance, and currently Acting Chief Financial Officer, will become Deputy Chief Financial Officer.

Eutelsat also announces that Raphaël Mussalian is appointed Chief Technical Officer, succeeding David Bair who is moving to Washington DC as the new CEO of Eutelsat America. David will succeed Ron Samuel who will continue in an advisory role after 17 years at Eutelsat, of which 11 as CEO of Eutelsat America. Over his 28-year career at Eutelsat, Raphaël has built vast experience in driving the Group's significant in-orbit expansion programme. David, who joined the company in 2010, will contribute his long and successful track record in the US space and defence industries to the continued development of Eutelsat America's activities.

Eutelsat CEO, Michel de Rosen, said: "With these appointments, Eutelsat is actively optimising its wealth of existing expertise. We are also injecting highly relevant talent and experience into our Company thanks to Antoine's experience as CFO in the telecom industry and in emerging markets. These combined skills will be of significant value as we pursue our ambition to expand and diversify our competence in the constant quest to serve our customers and attract new users to Eutelsat."

About Eutelsat Communications

With capacity commercialised on 31 satellites delivering reach of  Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, significant parts of the Americas and the Asia-Pacific, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world's leading satellite operators. As of 31 March 2013, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 4,600 television channels to over 200 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Group's satellites also provide a wide range of services for TV contribution, corporate networks and fixed and mobile broadband markets. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ over 780 commercial, technical and operational professionals from 30 countries. http://www.eutelsat.com

SOURCE Eutelsat Communications