SES’ Adel Al-Saleh Wins 1st Wash100 Award
for Growing Influence in Satellite Communications
Executive Mosaic is thrilled to honor Adel Al-Saleh, SES CEO, as a first-time Wash100 Award winner for his work building SES into a satellite communications colossus.
Al-Saleh is a talented businessman with extensive international experience running global companies. He served in executive positions at IBM and IMS Health, now part of IQVIA, for the first 25 years of his professional life before eventually spending six years as CEO of T-Systems and a board member of Deutsche Telekom. He became CEO of SES in February 2024.
The 2026 Wash100 Award popular vote competition is now open! Vote for Adel Al-Saleh and other top GovCon leaders today at Wash100.com.
Why Is Adel Al-Saleh Winning a 2026 Wash100 Award?
Closing the Intelsat Acquisition
Al-Saleh’s crowning accomplishment last year was closing SES’ blockbuster $3.1 billion acquisition of satellite communications rival Intelsat in July. The move expanded the firm’s fleet to 120 satellites across two orbits—90 in geostationary Earth orbit and 30 in medium Earth orbit. This enables SES to leverage complementary spectrum bands to improve connectivity and provide tailored services to aviation, government, maritime and media customers.
Proven Financial Acumen
Al-Saleh is an executive with deep financial expertise. He led SES to a 19.8 percent uptick in revenue year-over-year in November of last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2025 was roughly $979 million, representing 11 percent year-over-year growth and a margin of 49 percent.
“Joining the ranks of Wash100 winners in 2026 is a prestigious and well-deserved distinction for Adel, reflecting the leadership and global expertise he brings as CEO of SES,” said Jim Garrettson, Executive Mosaic CEO and founder of the Wash100 Award. “He defined himself as a premier executive in the satellite business last year by finalizing the acquisition of Intelsat, combining the powers of two communications industry forces.
“Adel has an unmatched talent for collaborating with rising space launch firms, as demonstrated by SES expanding its agreement with Relativity Space for flight services with SES missions. He also entered into a contract to extend the life of SES’ geostationary orbit satellites, pursuing long-term service continuity while also committing to the responsible use of space.
“Adel’s accomplishments over the past year underscore his significance as a transformative leader in the satellite industry, and I look forward to him building on this momentum in 2026,” Garrettson continued.
Who Is Adel Al-Saleh?
Adel Al-Saleh is a veteran technology and communications executive with a wealth of experience running successful IT firms. He was named to the board of directors at Belden, a provider of connection technologies for global customers, in November of last year.
He’s led SES to consequential awards, including a spot on the Space Force’s $4 billion, five-year Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Global contract vehicle. This seeks to provide resilient and anti-jam communications for tactical military users. SES Space and Defense in August of last year received the Army’s five year, $90 million Sustainment Tactical Network contract to deliver long-haul network transport and base-support communications.
SES’ agreement with Infinite Orbits for a GEO life extension mission is the first commercial life extension effort in Europe. The mission will leverage Endurance, a 750 kilogram docking vehicle that provides station keeping, orbital relocation, pointing management and end-of-life disposal.
Al-Saleh guided SES to another bold financial move shortly after closing the Intelsat acquisition. The firm announced in October of last year that it would become a major strategic shareholder of a merger between direct-to-device communications companies Lynk Global and Omnispace, Via Satellite reported. The goal of these three companies joining forces is to deploy D2D and Internet of Things services for mobile network operator, enterprise and government customers.
“We see enormous opportunities in D2D and IoT connectivity,” Al-Saleh said. “The planned combination of Lynk and Omnispace will offer SES access to new LEO capabilities that align with our strategy to diversify into this high-growth segment.”
What Are Adel Al-Saleh’s Recent Career Achievements?
Al-Saleh in 2025 pioneered an innovative approach to building the next generation of its medium Earth orbit satellite system. SES in September of last year announced it was teaming with nascent satellite manufacturer K2 Space to develop SES’ meoSphere, a network-of-networks strategy combining existing assets, the IRIS2 constellation and next-generation spacecraft in a software-defined apparatus.
Al-Saleh embraces emerging technologies to further SES’ business. The company in September of last year announced it would test new optical ground stations developed by Cailabs to transmit data from space using laser beams instead of radio waves. This has the potential to increase data transmission speeds by as much as 100 times, provide links with stronger security and reduce congestion in crowded radio frequency bands.
Demonstrating Al-Saleh’s eye for growing markets, SES in April of last year inaugurated its new office in Chennai, India, reflecting India’s importance as a strategic hub in the space economy. He believes India’s workforce will help SES quickly scale operations and play a critical role in its future development.
SES and SpeQtral in March of last year signed a memorandum of understanding to establish satellite-based, long distance quantum key distribution between Asia and Europe. The development of an associated optical ground station should slash costs involved in quantum communication infrastructure and lower barriers for worldwide deployment and adoption.
What Does Adel Al-Saleh’s Success Mean for GovCon?
The government contracting industry can expect Al-Saleh to continue pursuing market-moving mergers and acquisitions that grow SES’ influence as he further positions the company as a force in a rapidly-changing connectivity landscape.
Congratulations to Adel Al-Saleh on his 2026 Wash100 Award!
Cast your vote for Al-Saleh in the 2026 Wash100 popular vote competition.