Former Starsem chairman Jean-Yves le Gall has replaced Jacques Rossignol as chief executive of Arianespace. Le Gall has been charged with "energising Arianespace's sales and marketing policy" and moves as the market for Starsem's low-earth orbit launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome is drying up. Arianespace has a 25% stake in Starsem, and Rossignol had resisted a move to launch the Russian Soyuz booster for commercial launches from Arianespace's home base of Kourou, French Guiana, in an effort to boost Starsem's business. An agreement has since been reached, offering flights to geostationary transfer orbit that match the capability of the lower end of the Ariane 4 fleet.
Source: Flight International