Antonio Rodotà (24 December 1935–23 February 2006) was the fifth Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), serving from 1997 until 2003.

[1] After graduating from University of Rome in 1959 as an electronics engineer, he began his career with SISPRE SpA, Italy.

He then moved on to Alenia-Spazio in 1983 where he held a series of senior positions before becoming chief executive in 1995.

Before joining ESA, he was director of the Space Division of Finmeccanica (Italy) and a member of the boards of several international companies, as well as Arianespace.

I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to follow his path and to build on the foundations he laid for a renewed Europe in space.