SES Space & Defense announces new CEO

Reston-based satellite company and federal contractor SES Space & Defense, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based SES, announced Tuesday that it has appointed David Broadbent as president and CEO.

The appointment, which took effect on July 17, coincides with SES last week completing its $3.1 billion acquisition of McLean-based satellite services provider Intelsat. SES has combined the government and defense divisions of both companies under SES Space & Defense.

Broadbent is succeeding David Fields, who had led SES Space & Defense for the past three years.

“I’m honored to lead this newly integrated organization at such a pivotal moment,” said Broadbent in a statement. “Our focus moving forward is to harness the combined strengths of our people, capabilities and technology to deliver mission-driven outcomes for our government mission partners. As a unified team, we are uniquely positioned to provide a secure and resilient multi-orbit strategy that advance national security objectives, protect sovereignty, and ensure uninterrupted access to critical communication infrastructure.”

Broadbent joins the company from Intelsat, where he most recently served as president of government solutions and was responsible for the company’s global government business. Before joining Intelsat, Broadbent spent 21 years at Raytheon Technologies in various senior business leadership roles, including president of the company’s space systems business unit.

“David Broadbent brings the strategic vision and operational discipline essential to advance our government business,” said Billy Bingham, chairman of SES Space & Defense’s board of directors.

SES Space & Defense was formed in December 2022, following the merger of its previous iteration, SES Government Solutions, with DRS Global Enterprise Solutions, which SES acquired from Leonardo DRS for $450 million earlier that year.

A spokesperson stated that Fields left the company but was unable to provide further details. In a statement, Bingham said SES Space & Defense was formed under Fields’ leadership.

“Through his vision, integrity and commitment, Fields built a trusted brand and a mission-driven culture that continues to serve our customers,” Bingham said. “On behalf of the board and the entire organization, we extend our sincere gratitude to David for his lasting contributions to our team, our partners and the mission.”

SES Space & Defense specializes in providing satellite connectivity and services to the federal government and the Department of Defense. It has access to SES’s multiorbit fleet of over 120 satellites and employs about 300 people. According to the company’s website, it has more than 20 locations worldwide and actively works on 5,200 government missions annually.