Eva Berneke

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Eva Berneke
Born (1969-04-22) 22 April 1969 (age 54)
Alma mater
TitleCEO of Eutelsat

Eva Berneke (born 22 April 1969 [1] [2] ) is a Danish engineer and company executive. Since January 2022 she has been the CEO of Eutelsat.

Contents

Biography

Early life and education

Berneke graduated from Technical University of Denmark in 1992, where she obtained a master's degree in mechanical engineering. She also holds an MBA from INSEAD, obtained in 1995. [3]

Career

Berneke began her career as a consultant and partner at McKinsey in France. In 2007, she joined TDC, the main Danish telecommunications company, where she held the positions of Chief Strategy Officer in the "Mobiles" subsidiary, TDC A/S, Mobile Nordic and became Vice-Executive President until 2014. [4] In March 2014, she became managing director of KMD, initially a local Internet provider, which became under her leadership the leading Danish software and multi-sector IT solutions company, and a subsidiary of the Japanese group NEC. [5]

On January 1, 2022, Berneke was selected by a headhunter and took over the general management of Eutelsat, the French satellite company. [6] [7] Its main mission is to ensure the transition of the company from its main activity (the "video" transmission for the editors of television channels) to connectivity (Internet, services to businesses, administrations, the army, the research). [8] She considers that the traditional space industry based on geostationary satellites, of which Eutelsat is one of the main representatives, is compatible with the new generation of "constellation" satellites such as OneWeb, in which Eutelsat became a shareholder in 2021 and which deploys an unprecedented constellation of 650 mini-satellites in low orbit to provide internet services. [9]

Berneke is a member of the board of two iconic Danish companies, Lego and wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems, and of the National Bank of Denmark. [6] She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the French École polytechnique. [10]

Less than two months after taking office as chief executive officer of Eutelsat, Eva Berneke faced a significant crisis for the company posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Russia is an important market and partner for the French company which achieved 6.3% of its turnover there in 2020/2021. [11] OneWeb was forced to cancel its scheduled March 4 launch of 36 satellites on one of Russia's Soyuz rockets after the Russian space agency Roscosmos demanded a guarantee that the technology would not be used for military purposes, and that the British government would sell its stake in the company. [12]

The continuation of activities with two Russian pay-TV platforms, NTV Plus (subsidiary of Gazprom Media Holding) and Trikolor, remains the subject of criticism. These two platforms broadcast the main state channels (Rossiya 1, Perviy Kanal and NTV) to 15 million Russian households, but also, from the beginning of March, interrupted the transmissions of eight international news channels.

The first criticisms came from the Ukrainian press, [13] then took on an international dimension following the action of the Denis Diderot Committee, which published a report and a petition asking for European sanctions against the two Russian customers of Eutelsat. [14] The personal responsibility of Eva Berneke was questioned in the Danish press. [15] Faced with the absence of a break with the Russian propaganda machine that Eva Berneke's position signifies, the influential journalist Birgitte Ehradtsten even went so far as to question the solidarity between women. [16]

Consultant John Strand was even harsher: "As CEO of Eutelsat, Berneke had two choices: leave Russia or stay and support Putin. Berneke not only rejects the direction of the moral compass, but supports Putin's war by censoring information as it requires". [17] Eva Berneke responds to her critics by invoking the neutrality to which her company is bound and by indicating that it is up to French and European regulators to take decisions on possible sanctions in relation to the two platforms. [18]

The Denis Diderot Committee recognizes that the Code of Ethics of Eutelsat S.A. does indeed imply this principle of neutrality but notes that the Russian platforms do not respect the principles of pluralism enshrined in the Convention of the intergovernmental organization EUTELSAT IGO, that the main channels broadcast by the two platforms contain war propaganda or even incitement to genocide, and that Eva Berneke has obviously not asked the regulators to allow the termination of contracts with her two problematic clients. [19]

In July 2022, the Reporters sans Frontières association also urged the leaders of Eutelsat to put an end to the collaboration with Russian propaganda. [20]

On July 18, 2022, the Ukrainian Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkatchenko challenged his French counterpart Rima Abdul-Malak on the question [21]

After the unofficial announcement of the merger between Eutesalt Communications S.A. and Oneweb, an Indian source indicated that Eva Berneke will remain as CEO. [22] The merger will not impact the collaboration between Eutelsat S.A. and its Russian clients. The UK government has obtained a veto of sales of services that pose a risk to UK national security but it is understood that the UK government hopes to evade criticism by ensuring OneWeb technology is ringfenced in a way that ensures it is not used to support channels that facilitate Kremlin propaganda. [23]

Awards and recognition

In 2019, she received the Womenomics award which distinguishes Danish women managers. [24]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Eva Berneke". Altinget.dk. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "2021–22 Universal Registration Document" (PDF). Eutelsat. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Villadsen, Steffen (14 June 2018). "KMD-boss nægter at lade sig skræmme af Netcompany's succes: "André Rogaczewski er et fantastisk menneske, men hvis jeg bruger hele min dag på at holde øje med ham, så passer jeg altså ikke mit job"" [The KMD boss refuses to be intimidated by Netcompany's success: "André Rogaczewski is a fantastic person, but if I spend my whole day keeping an eye on him, then I'm not doing my job".]. Computerworld (in Danish).
  4. ↑ Eva Berneke, Linkedin, retrieved 21 July 2022
  5. ↑ Dan Jensen, Her er KMD's nye topchef. KMD har udnævnt ny topchef. Se hende her., Computer World, 21 January 2014 ; Change in KMD'S Top Management : Eva Berneke leaves KMD and Per Johansson Takes Ober as CEO, KMR, 24.3.2021
  6. 1 2 Palierse, Christophe (19 December 2021). "La danoise francophone Eva Berneke prend la direction d'Eutelsat" [French-speaking Danish Eva Berneke takes over the management of Eutelsat]. Les Echos (in French).
  7. ↑ Jason Rainbow, Eva Berneke to be Eutelsat’s next CEO, SpaceNews, 20 Decembre 2012
  8. ↑ Mark Holmes and Rachel Jewett, Eutelsat is Set for an Evolution With New CEO Eva Berneke, Via Satellite, 23 May 2022
  9. ↑ Hassan Meddah, Eva Berneke, directrice générale d’Eutelsat, unit deux générations spatiales, L'Usine nouvelle, 22 février 2022
  10. ↑ Eutelsat : Eva Berneke nommée Directrice générale, Le Figaro, 20 décembre 2021
  11. ↑ Eutelsat S.A., Communiqué de presse, 12 mai 2022
  12. ↑ Jason Rainbow, OneWeb leaves Baikonur Cosmodrome after Roscosmos ultimatum, SpaceNews, 2.3.2022
  13. ↑ Jim Philipoff, How to Use Satellite TV To Break into Putin’s TV Propaganda Fortress, Kyiv Post, 21.3.2022
  14. ↑ Julian Clover, Calls for sanctions on Russian pay-TV satellite platforms Tricolor and NTV+, Broadband TV News, 6.4.2012 ; European Federation of Journalists Eutelsat Removes Western TV Channels from Broadcasting in the Russian Federation, Council of Europe, 19 April 2022. For the details see Réactions du site du Comité Denis Diderot
  15. ↑ Dansk topchef i modvind – beskyldes for at holde liv i Putins propaganda, Børsen, 25.4.2022) ; Dansk topchef angribes for at udbrede Putin-propaganda, Berlingske, 26.4.2022 ; Tidligere KMD-topchef havnet i modvind for at levere satellitforbindelser til russisk propaganda, IT Watch, 26.4.2022 ; Dansk topchef i modvind – beskyldes for at holde liv i Putins propaganda, IT Watch, 26.4.2022 ; Satellit-selskab med Eva Berneke i spidsen beskyldes for at holde hånden under russernes propaganda Computer World, 26.4.2022
  16. ↑ Brigitte Ehrardsten, Troede du også, at kvindelige topledere var flinkere end mænd? Krigen i Ukraine viser, at det er de ikke, Berlingske, 29.4.2022
  17. ↑ French satellite provider Eutelsat ignores the moral compass and continues to operate in Russia, Strand Consult, 30.4.2022
  18. ↑ Eva Berneke: Om russisk-europæisk krydsild, storpolitik, it-monopoler og Elon Musk Radar Media, 4.5.2022, translation into English on the website of the Denis Diderot Committee
  19. ↑ André Lange et Jim Phillipoff, Le rôle déplorable d’Eutelsat dans la transmission de la propagande russe, Le Soir, 24 mai 2022 ; Jürg Altwegg, Wieso läuft Putins Kriegspropaganda auf Frankreichs Satelliten?, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24.6.2022
  20. ↑ France’s Eutelsat must stop collaborating with Russia’s war propaganda machine, RSF, 13.7.2022
  21. ↑ Ткаченко пропонує Франції очолити створення Європейського фонду для допомоги українській культурі, ukrinforma.ua; 18.7.2022
  22. ↑ UK and France to get board seats in deliberate Eutelsat and OneWeb tie-up, Businesslend, 24.7.2022
  23. ↑ Satellite firm bailed out by UK to be taken over by French rival, The Guardian, 24.7.2022
  24. ↑ Womenomics Awards  ; KMD-topchef bliver hædret som rollemodel, Finans, 3.5.2019
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