Tell us about your job…

I’m an export sales manager. My role is mainly to grow our equipment business in the United States with NASA and the US space industry and to drive sales in this market and other countries.

What are you most proud of in your day-to-day work?

I’m very proud of the business mindset we have at Thales Alenia Space, especially within our Spain teams. I appreciate how the departments I work with in business development, proposals and projects are always focused on the customer as our top priority. Our teams are agile, they listen to customers and prioritize their decisions to adapt to customer needs. This makes my job much easier — and it’s the key to success.

© Thales Alenia Space

What event in your career have you enjoyed the most?

I’m very lucky, I’ve spent my entire career in the space business, which is my passion. From satellite operator to service provider and now satellite manufacturer, I’ve moved through most of the satellite value chain and have learned a lot from a business and industry perspective. I’ve enjoyed my time for lots of reasons.

The best times I’ve had — and have — in this job are meeting customers and building solid relationships of trust with them, leading to contracts and constructive collaborations. The tougher the challenge, the more I enjoy it!

One notable recent success is the contract with BAE Systems to provide communications equipment for NEO Surveyor, a NASA mission to search for large comets and asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. This contract is the result of a long relationship we began back in 2019. This success has reinforced my belief: it takes time to become intimate with your customer, you need to earn their trust, so you have to go to them and be credible.

NEO Surveyor ©NASA JPL

I’m also very proud when missions we’re working on finally happen. The most recent example is when the Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander touched down on the Moon, with our onboard radio transponders communicating with Earth. I’m really proud to be part of a team contributing to such amazing achievements.

In a few words, what qualities are required in your job?

Being the interface with customers, you need to be trustable and reliable. You need to be credible and close, so you have to love being with your customers. You can’t pretend to have these qualities — you need to genuinely feel them inside!