SMS, the Spanish company Sistemas de Missiles de España, owned by Escribano M&E, GMV, Instalaza and Sener, has announced the appointment of Ignacio Bengoechea as non-executive president. Lieutenant General Bengoechea has a long career in the Armed Forces that dates to 1982, and his last assignment was second Chief of Staff of the Air Force (SEJEMA).
The huge experience of the newly appointed president and his deep knowledge of the operational needs of the Armed Forces will promote the growth and positioning of SMS as a reference alternative in the sector. The LG Bengoechea will help meet the SMS objective of developing a national driving industry, joining and consolidating industrial capabilities in the field of missile systems and other high-performance guided systems, providing our Armed Forces with greater autonomy and strategic sovereignty, in defence matters.
With the new president, Luis Mayo joins the company as director. Aeronautical engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and PDG from IESE, he has great experience in leadership and business management, having worked as general director in many companies in the sector such as GMV, Tecnobit or, more recently, in the national consortium TESS Defense.
Mayo’s extensive experience in business management will allow SMS to advance in the line started by his predecessor Fernando Mato, organizing and optimizing the necessary resources to guarantee the execution of the commitments already acquired, such as the international HYDEF program, coordinated at the European level by SMS. At the same time, Luis Mayo will organize and strengthen the company to ensure its sustainable growth, capturing the greatest national industrial value considering the numerous demands for acquisition, modernization and sustainment programs that are being implemented.
The newly appointed president of SMS, Ignacio Bengoechea, emphasizes that “it is increasingly important to promote industrial collaboration between companies, given the demanding requirements on innovation and technology, especially in weapons systems. SMS begins a new stage in which it reinforces, with a new and decisive impulse, its desire to become the leading company that coordinates, organizes and brings together a national strategic capacity in the Spanish missile sector.”
