Sener has announced a new organisational structure for its Aerospace and Defence business to drive business development in Space and Science and strengthen its innovation and technology development capabilities across the entire Aerospace and Defence division.

Strategic leadership transition in Space and Science at a time of strong growth in the space sector

Iñaki Pinto will take over as Head of Space and Science, succeeding Diego Rodríguez at the helm of one of the company’s most strategically important activities. A long-standing executive at Sener, he has played a key role in the reorganisation of Aerospace and Defence since it was established as an independent company and has held positions of increasing responsibility.

A mechanical industrial engineer from the University of the Basque Country, with a General Management Programme from the University of Deusto, Iñaki Pinto joined the Sener Group in 2006. Since then, he has built a strong track record in both project management and the leadership of various business areas. As a project director, he has led major programmes for the European Space Agency (ESA), including the BepiColombo, Solar Orbiter and JUICE missions, as well as contributing as a systems engineer to the development of the large deployable sunshield for the GAIA mission. He subsequently served as Director of Organisation and Business Processes at Aerospace and Defence and, until now, as Director of its Electromechanical Systems division.

New CTO role created to integrate innovation and technology across Aerospace and Defence

Against this backdrop, Diego Rodríguez, formerly Director of Space and Science, has been appointed Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of the newly created Technology and Innovation function at Sener Aerospace and Defence. The new role is designed to integrate the company’s technology strategy across the business and strengthen the coordination of its existing innovation, R&D and technology development activities.

A senior telecommunications engineer from the Technical University of Madrid, Rodríguez has spent almost four decades at Sener. He joined the company in 1987 and has built his entire career across the Space and Defence sectors.

The creation of this new function reflects the growing strategic importance of innovation and technology in developing differentiated capabilities for the space and defence markets. In recent years, Innovation and Technology has become a key pillar of Sener Aerospace and Defence, driving major developments and contributing to the company’s growth and technological positioning. Across both markets, the company allocates close to 10% of its revenue to R&D activities.

Throughout his career at Sener, Diego Rodríguez has held a range of technical and management positions. He began his career as a design engineer in Electronics and Control and, during the 1990s, went on to hold various roles as Technical Director and systems engineer, before taking on project leadership responsibilities across a number of European Space Agency (ESA) and Defence programmes. In 2005, he was appointed Director of the Space Department, a position he has held ever since. He has also served as a board member of HISDESAT since 2015.

With these appointments, Sener aims to drive further growth in the Space and Science sectors while continuing to develop proprietary solutions underpinned by innovation, technological development and technical excellence.