Éric Béranger, born in 1963, is a French engineer and business leader. A graduate of École Polytechnique and Télécom Paris, he began his career in 1988 in senior positions at France Télécom, Société Générale, and Matra Marconi Space (later Airbus Defence and Space). In 2000, following the creation of EADS, he became Senior Vice-President for Space Marketing and led the Skynet 5-Paradigm program with the UK Ministry of Defence.
In 2003, he founded Astrium Services, which he directed until 2012, turning it into a major player in the space sector by securing major international contracts and significantly increasing both revenue and workforce. He then served as CEO of Astrium Satellites before joining Airbus Defence and Space, where he oversaw groundbreaking contracts for fully electric propulsion satellites with SES and Eutelsat.
After heading the start-up OneWeb, which aimed to build a satellite constellation for global broadband internet access, Éric Béranger was appointed Chief Executive Officer of MBDA in June 2019, leading Europe’s foremost missile systems company.
A Colonel in the French Air Force Citizen Reserve, he was named Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 2006. Married and father of two, he is also a licensed pilot and enjoys sports and science.