Celia Pelaz to become CEO “Defence & New Space” at Schaeffler

2026-06-01 | Herzogenaurach

• Celia Pelaz has more than 25 years of international experience in the defence and space industry and currently serves as COO of Spire Global, Inc.
• “Defence & New Space” is one of Schaeffler’s new growth fields and is therefore of overarching strategic importance
• The “Defence & New Space” activities, which will be consolidated in STech Defence GmbH as an independent legal entity, are based in Munich

Celia Pelaz (48) will become CEO of “Defence & New Space” at Schaeffler effective October 1, 2026, and in this role will take over responsibility of the management board of STech Defence GmbH. STech Defence GmbH was founded as an independent subsidiary of Schaeffler AG at the end of 2025 and will in future focus on the defence and New Space sectors. In addition to Celia Pelaz, Manfred Homm (60) serves as CTO. The role of CFO is currently being filled on an interim basis by Dr. Christopher Köth (42).

STech Defence GmbH sees itself as a preferred partner to the defence and space industries in Germany and Europe. Building on Schaeffler Group’s long-established broad capabilities in product development, manufacturing and industrialization as well as its product families, STech Defence GmbH focuses on developing and delivering innovative solutions and products.

Celia Pelaz currently serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Member of the Management Board at Spire Global, Inc., a leading global provider of satellite data, analytics, and intelligence, a position she has held since January 2025.

She began her professional career in 2001 at the European aerospace, space and defence group EADS and held various positions there and at the subsequently renamed Airbus Defence & Space (AD&S) until mid-2014, including roles in operations, sales, and project management.

This was followed by a role as Head of Transformation & Corporate Secretary at AD&S until early 2016, where her responsibilities included overseeing the carve-out of the defence electronics activities, which later became Hensoldt AG.

There, she initially served as Head of International Development, Strategy & Corporate Functions starting in early 2016 before taking over as Head of Strategic Business Development and later as Head of the Spectrum Dominance & Airborne Solutions Division.

In July 2021, Celia Pelaz was appointed Chief Strategy Officer and a Member of the Executive Board of Hensoldt AG. Until August 2024, she served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) there.

Celia Pelaz studied technical engineering in Industrial Economy and Organization at “Escuela Universitaria de Industria, Comercio y navegación de Bilbao, Spain”. She holds both Spanish and German citizenship.

Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG, says: “We are very pleased to appoint Celia Pelaz, one of the most distinguished and experienced executives in the European defence and space industry, for Schaeffler. With her experience, expertise and leadership strength, she will make an important contribution as an internationally experienced expert to expanding Schaeffler Group’s defence and space business and shaping this important new growth field for the future. As a Motion Technology Company, Schaeffler is uniquely suited among international suppliers to achieve significant growth in the defence and New Space sectors.”

Schaeffler AG aims to achieve a ten percent share of revenue in new growth areas outside its core business by 2035. These include, among others, humanoid robotics, defence and New Space.

Forward-looking statements and projections
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