ArianeGroup‘s Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the shareholders, has appointed Martin Sion as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 4.
Martin Sion, who has over twenty years of experience in the Space industry, was previously CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense and has been a member of the ArianeGroup Board of Directors since April 2020. Martin Sion is 54 and a graduate of Ecole Centrale de Paris.
Eric Dalbiès, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ArianeGroup said, “I welcome this appointment of Martin Sion whose background makes him very well placed to succeed André-Hubert Roussel as CEO of ArianeGroup. The key priority remains the maiden flight of Ariane 6 and then its rapid ramp-up. I would like to thank warmly André-Hubert Roussel for his dedicated leadership of ArianeGroup over the past four years. He has maintained a strong focus on the development of Ariane 6, while providing flawless support to the French defense during the particularly difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine.”
Martin Sion started his career in 1990 as a design engineer with the Société Européenne de Propulsion (SEP, now part of ArianeGroup). He held a variety of positions within SEP until 2006 when he joined Snecma (now Safran Aircraft Engines) as head of improvement initiatives. In 2009, he took over responsibility for the “Accessories and controls” center of excellence at Snecma’s industrial division and was subsequently appointed Director of the space engine division. In July 2013, he became Chairman and CEO of Aircelle (now Safran Nacelles) which he held until June 2015.
Since June 2015, he has been CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense, a subsidiary of Safran, which brings together civil and military activities around optronic, inertial, electronic and electromechanical technologies for the civil aviation, space and defense industries.
Since 2020, Martin Sion has been a member of the Board of Directors of ArianeGroup and is chairman of the GEAD (Aeronautics & Defence Equipment Group) of Gifas (French trade association for Aerospace & Defence industries).