Latitude announced Nov. 5 that it hired Aurélie Bressollette as chief executive. She succeeds Stanislas Maximin, co-founder of the company, who moved into the role of executive chairman.

Bressollette comes to Latitude from Rivada Space Networks, where she was vice president of the procurement office for the constellation company. She previously worked for Redwire, OHB System and Airbus.

In an interview, Maximin said he hired Bressollette to handle day-to-day operations of the company as Latitude grew. “As a founder, you’ve got to fire yourself from multiple jobs through the course of building the company,” he said, noting he had previously handed over responsibilities of being chief financial officer and salesman to others at the company.

Latitude, based in the French city of Reims with 140 employees, is developing a small launch vehicle called Zephyr designed to place up to 200 kilograms into low Earth orbit. Maximin said in the interview that the company will start received flight hardware this week for the first Zephyr rocket as it prepares for a series of engine hotfire tests late this year, with a first orbital launch attempt around the end of 2025.

I hope some of these European startups pan out. Arianespace could use some competition.