Ibadan, 15 December 2023. – The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the appointment of two new Directors by its 22 Member States at its council meeting. As a result, Laurent Jaffart will become the next Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications, and Marco Ferrazzani will become the next Director of Internal Services.
Laurent Jaffart may join ESA in the first semester of 2024 from Airbus, where he is currently Vice President and Head of Strategy, Corporate and New Business Development for Space Systems. He will be replacing Francisco Javier Benedicto Ruiz. He holds a Master’s degree in National Resources Strategy from the National Defense University in Washington DC, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the former ESC Reims (Reims Management School – France) and another one from Dublin City University.
Likewise, Marco Ferrazzani is also due to take up his new position on 1 April 2024, and he is currently the Senior Legal Counsel at ESA. He will be replacing Jean-Max Puech, who is retiring from his position. Marco Ferrazzani has a PhD in law from the University of Naples and has completed periods of postdoctoral studies at Georgetown University and Harvard Law School.
The ESA Council also approved the renewal of Mr Josef Aschbacher’s mandate as Director General of ESA for a further period of four years from 1 March 2025. Josef Aschbacher got his first appointment on 17 December 2020, as Director General, for an initial period of four years that started on 1 March 2021. The extension symbolises the Council’s trust in Josef Aschbacher’s capacity to lead the ESA to face current challenges for Europe in space.
