Oneweb’s CEO resigns due to growing French influence after the merger with Eutelsat

Stephen Beynon, the British CEO of satellite internet provider OneWeb, will resign just less than a year after the company merged with France’s Eutelsat.

His departure comes amid reports of increasing French dominance within the newly merged group, with key decisions shifting away from Britain.

OneWeb, which was founded in 2012 by American technology entrepreneur Greg Wyler to provide global internet coverage via low-Earth orbit satellites, faced major challenges in 2020 and filed for bankruptcy after losing the backing of major investor SoftBank . The company was then saved by a $500 million investment from the British government and an equal amount from Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, who recently became BT’s largest shareholder.

Former Business Matters columnist Beynon was named CEO of OneWeb and co-president of Eutelsat’s connectivity division following the merger, which saw Eutelsat acquire OneWeb in a deal structured as a partnership. However, insiders suggest that the UK operations are increasingly being absorbed by their French parent company, despite the UK government retaining a 10.9% stake and a special share intended to protect UK interests.

Beynon’s co-president, Frenchman Cyril Dujardin, is expected to take full control of Eutelsat OneWeb after Beynon’s departure next month. The search for Beynon’s successor is currently underway, with the leadership transition raising further questions about the future of OneWeb’s UK operations.

Neither Beynon nor Eutelsat have commented on the dismissal.