Schaeffler AG announced that Celia Pelaz (48) will become CEO of ?Defence & New Space? at Schaeffler effective October 1, 2026, and in this role she took 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). Celia Pelaz had more than 25 years of international experience in the defence and space industry and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Member of the Management Board at Spire Global Inc., a position she 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.
