Toulouse – July 1, 2005 –
At the meeting of its Board of Directors
22 June, Spot Image named Hervé Buchwalter as its new Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, as of 1 July. He succeeds Jean-Marc Nasr who
lead the company since 2001 and who is moving to a new position within
the EADS group.
Hervé Buchwalter, 45, joined Matra Espace
in 1983. He occupied a series of management positions in the field of
Earth observation systems, particularly on the French and European SPOT
5, Envisat and METOP programmes, by which time the company had become
EADS Astrium. Prior to joining Spot Image, Mr. Buchwalter was Head of
International Business Development within the Earth Observation,
Navigation and Science Business Division of Astrium, a position he held
since 1999. While there, several satellite contracts were won,
including FORMOSAT-2 (Taiwan), KOMPSAT-2 (Korea), THEOS (Thailand) and
recently COMS (Korea), making EADS Astrium leader in this field.
A graduate of the Ecole Centrale de
Paris, he completed his Executive Masters of Business Administration
(MBA) in 2000, from the CPA (Centre de Perfectionnement aux Affaires)
Programme offered by HEC, the top business school in France.
“I wish to praise the excellent work of my predecessor and the
worldwide staff of the Spot Image group over the last few years,”
stated Hervé Buchwalter. “ The business strategy has resulted in our
strong leadership position in the global Earth observation industry. My
goal is to strengthen this leadership with our new partner satellite
FORMOSAT-2, to help ensure international distribution of THEOS and
TerraSAR-X and to develop new partnerships. One of our most exciting
challenge will be to prepare for our high resolution Pleiades
constellation, scheduled for first launch in 2008, working closely with
CNES. And I know that I can count on the experience and motivation of
everyone in the Spot Image group to achieve these goals, and to
continue our global leadership.”
Spot Image is the commercial operator of
the SPOT system, with nearly 20 years’ experience as a provider of
satellite data. The company generates 75% of its revenues outside
Europe.
Through its headquarters in France, five subsidiaries in Australia,
China, Japan, Singapore and the United States, three offices in Brazil,
Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, and a global network of receiving
stations, channel partners and distributors, Spot Image supplies
geographic information derived from optical and radar satellite imagery
to users in the private and public sectors all over the world.
(Credits Spot Image)