Leadership Celia Pelaz Became CEO of “Defence & New Space” at Schaeffler

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Celia Pelaz became CEO of “Defence & New Space” at Schaeffler on 1 October 2026 and has taken over management of STech Defence GmbH as the company expands its activities in the defence and New Space sectors.

Celia Pelaz (48) became CEO of “Defence & New Space” at Schaeffler on 1 October 2026 and, in this role, has taken over management of STech Defence GmbH. STech Defence GmbH was established at the end of 2025 as an independent subsidiary of Schaeffler AG and will focus on the defence and New Space sectors. Alongside Celia Pelaz, Manfred Homm (60) holds the position of CTO. The role of CFO is currently being held 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 the Schaeffler Group’s proven broad expertise in product development, manufacturing and industrialisation, as well as its product families, the company focuses on developing and providing innovative solutions and products.

Celia Pelaz has been Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a member of the Management Board at Spire Global, Inc. since early 2025. The company is a global leading provider of satellite data, analytics and intelligence.

She began her professional career in 2001 at European aerospace and defence group EADS, where she held various positions until mid-2014, including in operations, sales and project management. She subsequently worked at Airbus Defence & Space (AD&S), which succeeded EADS in this area.

From then until early 2016, she was Head of Transformation & Corporate Secretary at AD&S, where her responsibilities included overseeing the carve-out to separate the defence electronics activities, which later became Hensoldt AG.

There, from early 2016, she served as Head of International Development, Strategy & Corporate Functions before taking over responsibility for Strategic Business Development and subsequently 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. Most recently, she served there as Chief Operating Officer (COO) until August 2024.

Celia Pelaz studied Technical Engineering in Business and Industrial Organisation at the “Escuela Universitaria de Industria, Comercio y navegación de Bilbao”. She holds Spanish and German citizenship.

Klaus Rosenfeld, Chairman of the Executive Board of Schaeffler AG, says: “We are delighted to have recruited Celia Pelaz, one of the most distinguished and experienced managers in the European defence and aerospace industry, to Schaeffler. With her experience, expertise and leadership capabilities, she will make an important contribution as an internationally experienced expert to establishing and expanding Schaeffler Group’s defence and aerospace business and shaping this important new growth field with a focus on the future. As a Motion Technology Company, Schaeffler is uniquely positioned among international suppliers to achieve significant growth in the defence and New Space sectors.”

Schaeffler AG aims to generate a ten per cent share of its revenue from new growth fields outside its core business by 2035. These include, among others, humanoid robotics, defence and New Space.

Forward-looking statements and forecasts
Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results or developments to differ materially from the results or developments stated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions may adversely affect the results and financial consequences of the projects and developments described in this document.

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