Dear Jean-François,
Thanks for the warm welcome email, or rather, the broadcast via noreply@eutelsat.com, which, unsurprisingly, bounced when I tried to reply. But since we’re clearly in “dialogue mode,” here’s my response the old-fashioned way: publicly and with mild sarcasm.
Congrats on completing your first month as CEO. It’s heartwarming to hear it’s been “incredibly busy in the best way possible.” Usually, that’s HR code for “the onboarding folder was fat, and the firehose hasn’t stopped yet.”
Loved the part where you reminded us that we, the partners, customers, viewers of this celestial theatre, are “at the heart of everything.” Especially now that Eutelsat is asking us (and its sovereign patrons) to chip in €1.35 billion to stay on course.
The strategic roadmap sounds exciting, particularly how €716 million of it was handed over by the French State, Bharti, CMA CGM, and FSP at a generous 32% premium. Not everyone gets that kind of love. Then there’s the €634 million from the rest of us mortals through a rights issue. Très chic.
It’s refreshing to see the shift to sovereignty and resilience, though one might say that in today’s geopolitical landscape, “government contracts” just sounds a bit more honest.
And while it’s comforting to know you’re unlocking new opportunities for video delivery, we all know where the satellites are truly aimed: at LEO growth, OneWeb maintenance, IRIS² ambitions, and that €1 billion framework deal with the French military that didn’t go unnoticed. Defense might be the new Netflix.
As for those “ambitious growth targets for 2029,” nothing screams optimism like setting milestones far enough out to remain eternally hopeful.
All the best with the journey ahead. Looking forward to the next message from [email protected].
Warm regards,
Michael
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