Hardly had we found the time to honour the memory of Vittorio Arrigoni, when another towering figure of the telecommunications world took his leave: ‘Mr. Eutelsat’, Giuliano Berretta, passed away on May 26 in Rome. After a promising start to his career at Selenia in 1964, Berretta became Head of the Telecommunications Systems section at ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre) in 1971, later moving on to lead the Telecommunications Missions and Programmes Office at the European Space Agency (ESA). However, it was in 1990, upon joining Eutelsat, that his pioneering spirit and passion for innovation truly came into their own. At the European Satellite Consortium, Berretta initially served as Commercial Director, then as Director General and Chairman of the Executive Board. He would go on to become both Chairman and CEO of Eutelsat SA and its parent company, Eutelsat Communications SA. Under his leadership, the company was listed on the stock exchange in 2005 and rapidly reached a market valuation of over 7 billion euros. It was also under his guidance that the subsidiary Skylogic was established, offering broadband satellite communication services.

Giuliano Berretta was a towering global figure in the field of telecommunications, with visionary insights that profoundly reshaped a sector defined by rapid technological evolution. One need only recall Eutelsat’s pivotal role in the revolution of satellite television and digital cinema.