The European Space Agency Council has approved the reassignment of Laurent Jaffart, currently Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications (D/CSC) to the newly created position of Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity Directorate (D/RNC), which will take effect from 1 February 2026.
This new position reflects ESA's commitment to bolstering resilience and enhancing navigation and connectivity in line with the security and defence priorities of its Member States, the European Union and defence-related agencies in Europe.
Establishing a clear design authority within ESA is crucial for the European Resilience from Space (ERS) programme's success and for the timely development of essential security and defence technologies, ensuring that systems are designed and delivered in line with Member States' needs.
ESA's intergovernmental framework provides the credential and tools for developing space technologies and systems - including for security and defence - and to implement corresponding activities and programmes on behalf of its Member and Participating States as well as for the European Union in compliance with the peaceful use of our outer space and the Convention.
Laurent Jaffart took up duty as Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications (D/CSC) and Head of ECSAT in Harwell in the UK on 15 May 2024.
He graduated from the University of Brighton in 2000 with an honours degree in European business and technology, then gained dual Masters in Business Administration degrees from the former ESC Reims (Reims Management School in France) and Dublin City University. In 2012, Mr Jaffart was awarded a Masters degree in military national resource strategy and policy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now Eisenhower School) at the National Defence University in Washington DC.
Before joining ESA, Mr Jaffart worked for Airbus Defence and Space as Vice-President and Head of Strategy, Corporate and New Business Development in Space Systems, leading a trans-national team based in France, Germany and the UK. He simultaneously served as a member of the Space System Executive Board and as a member of the Airbus OneWeb Satellites Board.
Previously, Mr Jaffart worked in various roles at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), that went on to become part of Airbus Defence and Space in 2015. These included notably Vice-President and Head of Sales & Marketing Business Growth for Space Systems, Head of Strategy at Astrium Satellites (a subsidiary of EADS) based in Ottobrun, Germany, where he was responsible for the OneWeb bid for the first generation of the constellation and the creation of the joint-venture Airbus OneWeb Satellites.
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