With extensive senior management roles at leading IT and telecommunication companies, Adel Al-Saleh was appointed CEO of SES in February 2024. Adel joined SES from Deutsche Telekom, where he served as Board Member and CEO of T-Systems since 2018. Prior to that, he was the CEO for Northgate Information Solutions (NIS) Group from 2011-2018. Adel also held senior leadership roles at IMS Health and IBM for the first 25 years of his career. Adel graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and holds an MBA from Florida Atlantic University.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Adel shared insights into his journey across tech, healthcare, telecom, and now space as CEO of SES. On trends, he sees multi-orbit + software-defined architectures accelerated by AI as the biggest shift ahead, turning satellite networks into one adaptive, real-time system. For the future, Adel is focused on repositioning SES as the leader in space solutions, launching faster through vertical integration, and building SES as a diplomatic bridge for global regulation. His advice to young leaders: build a strong tech foundation, stay close to innovation, keep the customer at the center, and develop a global mindset. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Adel. You’ve crossed tech, healthcare, telecom, and space. What pattern in complex systems did you notice early in your career that you now see everywhere, and how do you turn it into impact?
In my experience, the following patterns have consistently emerged across the technology-driven industries I have crossed:
- Technology is a game-changer for business performance: Even for non-technology organizations, technology enhances productivity, maximizes efficiency, and advances innovation.
- Competition accelerates the speed of innovation: The more intense the competition, the more urgent it becomes to continuously innovate to ensure the business keeps pace.
- Culture and alignment are critical: A strong, aligned team and the right culture make all the difference in the world and directly determine how successful a business will be.
Leading organizations recognize and embrace these patterns and remain consistently impactful by never allowing complacency to set it. They behave like challengers, even when they are leaders. They constantly question, experiment, challenge assumptions, and push boundaries. These approaches ultimately create real advantages, and it is the mindset we are implementing at SES.
SES operates MEO and GEO fleets and is deploying next-gen systems. As CEO, what is the one strategic problem you are personally obsessed with solving right now?
The problem that keeps me up at night is the state of the geopolitical and regulatory environment, and its impact on the global economy and supply chains. Allied nations are looking inwards and building walls instead of working together. Nationalism and protectionism are threatening the free movement of goods. In the telecom and space sectors, convergence around standards has eroded. All of this has made it harder for businesses to operate. As a transatlantic leader with a deep presence in both the U.S. and Europe, SES is operating as a diplomatic bridge, engaging directly with global governments to help shape the future of secure global communications and space solutions – and to ensure the industry continues to operate within a coordinated, global regulatory framework rather than a fragmented one.
Against this backdrop, the need to rethink how we innovate has become urgent. Navigating these challenges at SES means fundamentally changing the innovation model for our company and, more broadly, the satellite industry. We’re breaking the paradigm of long development cycles, where historically it has taken 5-7 years to design, build, and launch new satellite networks and technologies. Through partnerships with new space companies and by vertically integrating key technologies like payload development, we’re creating a model where we can launch, iterate, and test in orbit on a much faster cadence – effectively every year – with less reliance on legacy supply chains. These shifts are essential if we want to stay relevant amid the rapidly changing digital and geopolitical landscape.
Low Earth Orbit constellations, direct-to-device, and software-defined satellites are reshaping the space industry. Looking ahead five years, what shift in satellite architecture will be most underestimated by the market today?
The real inflection point will be the convergence of multi-orbit architectures and software-defined capabilities, with AI helping to accelerate this dynamic. It’s no longer just about LEO versus MEO versus GEO; it’s about orchestrating them as a single, interoperable network.
Combining multi-orbit with software-defined payloads, ground infrastructure, and orchestration unlocks the ability to dynamically adapt capacity, performance, and coverage in real time, enabling secure, resilient, high-performance applications across industries.
Climate monitoring, IoT, defense, and media all rely on space infrastructure. Which vertical will drive the most unexpected demand for satellite services by 2030, and why?
Defense and mobility will be the biggest drivers of satellite demand over the next several years. In the current geopolitical environment, governments are increasingly prioritizing sovereign, secure, and resilient space capabilities like never before. That demand is only accelerating.
Another significant driver will be the push to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars. These missions will require significant investments in space infrastructure and create a new space economy.
At the same time, mobility will continue to experience sustained growth, particularly within the commercial aviation sector. Airlines increasingly see connectivity as core to the passenger experience, and more are moving toward seamless, high-speed, and often free Wi-Fi onboard.
These and other sectors are reshaping demand for satellite connectivity in ways that go beyond what many expected just a few years ago.
Leaders carry lessons from outside the boardroom. What book, technical or not, has the most notes in your margins, and what single idea from it do you revisit weekly?
The book that has had the biggest impact on my career is “Leadership and Self-Deception,” authored by Jim Ferrell and The Arbinger Institute. It taught me very important lessons:
- See others as human beings with needs and ambitions, just like you.
- The right mindset is the secret recipe for success.
The “Art of War” by Sun Tzu is another great book that shares important lessons on how to compete strategically.
Music, art, or sports often reveal how leaders think. What performer, team, or creator do you admire, and what about their craft resonates with how you lead?
I love music and listen to a wide range of genres, each for a special time. Classical and jazz music each have incredible ranges of emotions.
I’ve always admired elite sports teams that sustain performance over long periods – teams that reinvent themselves while staying true to their core identity. In soccer (or football), Real Madrid is a great example of a team that has managed to achieve sustained success. Manchester City is another, with 20 trophy wins over a 10-year period under former manager Pep Guardiola.
Great teams like these achieve success by building a culture of trust, accountability, and continuous improvement. They don’t rely on individual brilliance alone – they create systems that enable their players to perform at their best every day.
I think about leadership in very similar terms: people make it happen, and culture is what enables them to do it.
If you could have dinner with three innovators from any era, living or historical, who would be at the table and what would you want to learn from each?
I would choose Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk.
From Edison, I’d want to understand the discipline behind turning ideas into scalable, repeatable innovations. From Jobs, it would be about the intersection of technology and human experience and how to create products and solutions that people don’t just use but truly connect with.
And from Elon Musk, I’d focus on long-term vision, execution, and how anticipating major technology shifts, like AI, can position a company for decades of leadership.
There would be so much to learn from all three about how to combine vision with execution and how to build an organization that continuously evolves and remains relevant.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
My biggest goal is to transform and reposition SES as the leader in space solutions and a critical enabler of global digital infrastructure.
In five years, we will have achieved success if both our company and the industry are moving faster, innovating continuously, and delivering transformative connectivity solutions that truly make a difference for governments, enterprises, and society.
If a 22-year-old said “I want to lead in space and telecom,” what should they do this year to start?
First, build a strong foundation in technology, whether that’s engineering, data, network architecture, or, of course, AI. In the space industry, many technologies intersect. Technical understanding matters.
Stay curious and close to innovation. Keep learning and never fall behind. Follow what’s happening in space, AI, connectivity, and quantum key distribution. Look for opportunities to get hands-on experience.
Never forget about the customer. Understand what they need today and anticipate what they will need in the future.
Be willing to take risks and choose courage over comfort. Don’t be afraid to fail, but learn with each failure. That’s how leaders are created.
Finally, develop a global mindset. Space and telecom are inherently international industries. Gaining a deep understanding of different markets, cultures, and geopolitical dynamics will set you apart.