Mexican satellite operator Satmex has appointed Juan García-Gayou Facha as its new chief financial officer as the group prepares to complete the financing of its latest bird.
García-Gayou was previously CFO at the long-term investments division of…
Mexican satellite operator Satmex has appointed Juan García-Gayou Facha as its new chief financial officer as the group prepares to complete the financing of its latest bird.
García-Gayou was previously CFO at the long-term investments division of Empresas ICA, a Mexican construction and engineering group. Before that, he was a director of finance at business data provider Thomson Reuters.
Satmex CEO Patricio Northland said: “Juan is an excellent fit to the culture and values that we have at Satmex, I am very pleased to have him on board and I am confident he will guide important efforts that will help the Company achieve its goals.”
One of García-Gayou’s first tasks in his new role will be securing export credit agency financing for the all-electric Satmex-7 bird being constructed by Boeing Satellite Services. SatelliteFinance understands that the operator has already applied for support from Ex-Im for the spacecraft, which is due to be launched in Q1 2015. Satmex 7, which is being jointly procured with Asian satellite operator ABS, will replace the Solidaridad-2 spacecraft, which is currently operating from an inclined orbit to primarily provide L-band services to Mexico’s government.
The group is also anticipating the launch of its Satmex-8 satellite by International Launch Services in the coming months, following a suspension of launches resulting from an earlier Proton rocket failure.
Beyond this, García-Gayou could find himself managing what many industry watchers see as Satmex’s inevitable sale. The company is currently owned by its bondholders, who in 2010 rejected a takeover bid by US satellite operator EchoStar, which is now part of pay-TV giant Dish Network.
