Director, Europe and International

Born 1982, Christophe Venet is a graduate of the IEP political studies institute of Strasbourg and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Tübingen (Germany).

He began his career as a researcher with think tanks, at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in 2009 and then the Space programme at IFRI, the French international relations institute, in 2010. In this role, he published 30 articles and co-edited two books on space policy.

In 2012, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was in charge of space within the Business and International Economics Directorate. Here, he helped to execute economic diplomacy for the space sector and sat on the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the board of Eutelsat IGO.

Christophe Venet joined CNES in 2015 as space adviser in France’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels. He sat on the Space and GNSS groups of the EU Council and was involved with the EU’s legislative work in the field of space.

In 2018, he was appointed head of the agency’s European and International Affairs sub-directorate and then Deputy Director of Planning, International and Quality.

Christophe Venet took up his post as Director, Europe and International effective 1 January 2021.