The Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) is undergoing a change in leadership and has lost both of its top executives within the space of a few weeks. Ruy Pinto took up his post as acting CEO on Monday 14 September 2026, replacing 
This change comes two months after the announcement that Mathias Link, previously deputy CEO of the LSA, was leaving the organisation. He confirmed this week that he is moving into the private sector: he is joining the Luxembourg-based start-up Exobiosphere as director of external affairs and strategic partnerships.
The agency is thus seeing the departure, almost simultaneously, of the two senior officials who embodied its leadership and a significant part of the continuity of Luxembourg’s space policy.
A former SES executive to oversee the transition
To navigate this period, the board of directors has appointed a candidate with a background in the satellite industry. Ruy Pinto joined SES in February 2017 and became its chief technology officer in January 2019. In particular, he has overseen the group’s technological strategy and the development of its multi-orbit infrastructure.
Following Steve Collar’s departure, he also served as interim chief executive of SES between July 2023 and January 2024, prior to the arrival of Adel Al-Saleh. He had previously held several roles at Inmarsat, including chief technology officer and chief operating officer.
“I am honoured and grateful to have the opportunity to be part of this dynamic process by leading the LSA into a new phase of growth, as a leading organisation in the space sector,” said Ruy Pinto. He intends to work closely with the agency’s teams and the ministry of the economy to further develop Luxembourg’s space ecosystem.
The appointment of a former senior executive from SES brings industrial experience to the LSA at a time when it is in the process of restructuring its senior management team. The agency implements the government’s space policy, manages national research and development programmes, and represents Luxembourg at the European Space Agency as well as in various European and international programmes.
Two key figures in the ecosystem are leaving
Marc Serres had been head of the LSA since its establishment in September 2018. He had previously been head of space affairs at the ministry of the economy from 2013 to 2018, having previously managed Luxembourg’s relations with the European Space Agency at the ministry of higher education and research.
Mathias Link, for his part, had been working for 17 years on the development of Luxembourg’s space sector, successively at Luxinnovation, the ministry of the economy and the LSA. He had co-ordinated the SpaceResources.lu initiative and led the establishment of the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (Esric).
At Exobiosphere, he will be responsible for developing the start-up’s relationships with governments, space agencies and international industrial partners. The company, which specialises in the use of microgravity for biomedical research and drug discovery, is preparing its first orbital missions for 2027. In particular, its platform is set to be installed on board the International Space Station and Vast’s future commercial space station, Haven-1. Mathias Link’s move from the institutional sector to a company supported by the Luxembourg ecosystem also illustrates the maturing of that ecosystem. In August, Exobiosphere received a grant of one million euros from the ministry of the economy under the ‘Young Innovative Enterprise’ scheme.
“Under the leadership of Ruy Pinto, we will build on this momentum and further cement the country’s position as the key hub for the space sector,” said the chairman of the LSA’s board of directors, Jacques Thill.
