Eutelsat Board of Directors Proposes Jean-Martin Folz to Succeed Giuliano Berretta as Chairman

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Oct 13, 2011, 02:41 ET

PARIS, October 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The Board of Directors of Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris : ETL) met today and unanimously decided to propose to shareholders at the General Assembly of 8 November 2011 to nominate Jean-Martin Folz as a Board member. If elected, Jean-Martin Folz will be appointed by the Board as Chairman to succeed Giuliano Berretta.

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO, said: "The Board is delighted to propose Jean-Martin Folz to join our Board and believes he has all the qualities to assume the role of Chairman, succeeding Giuliano Berretta whose mandate expires in November. Jean-Martin Folz's extensive business experience on an international scale will add further strength to our Board's ability to oversee the expansion of our business for the long term, building on the outstanding achievements accomplished under the chairmanship of Giuliano Berretta over the last six years."

Jean-Martin Folz is a graduate of France's Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole des Mines. He began his career in the French administration where he served in various ministries from 1972 to 1978 before joining Rhône-Poulenc as plant manager. In 1984 he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jeumont-Schneider. He joined Péchiney in 1987 as Chief Executive Officer and was Chief Executive Officer of Eridania Béghin-Say from 1991 to 1995.

Jean-Martin Folz joined PSA Peugeot Citroën in 1995 and was the Group's CEO from 1997 until February 2007. He was Chairman of AFEP (The French Association of private companies) from 2007 to 2010.

His current Board memberships include Alstom, Axa, Saint-Gobain, Société Générale and Solvay.

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 27 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. As of 30 June 2011, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 3,800 television channels. More than 1,100 channels are broadcast via its HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East alone which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates access to high speed internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ just over 700 commercial, technical and operational professionals from 30 countries.