Meet ESA’s newest female leadership

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day on 8 March is #GiveToGain, emphasising the importance of reciprocal support and community. Advancing gender equality is about multiplying opportunities for everyone to thrive. Whether through visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women’s advancement helps create a more interconnected world.

This mentality is reflected in the attention to gender balance as one of the main pillars of ESA’s Diversity and Inclusiveness efforts. Over the years, ESA has implemented concrete actions to increase the representation of women at the agency and to ensure an inclusive and supporting work environment, from strengthening talent acquisition measures and working to reduce bias in the hiring process to promoting internal women networks and providing opportunities for professional growth.

Thanks to these measures, female representation in the agency is on the rise. At the end of 2025, Women represented 37% of all new recruitments, with the latest figure bringing ESA very close to the target of 40% new female recruits set by Agenda 2025. Women also reached 27% of top management positions, a remarkable result compared to the 8% recorded in 2016.

Women in leadership at ESA come from very different backgrounds and join the agency through many different paths. To give a snapshot of the diverse expertise of the women at ESA and show the human side of the statistics, we are delighted to present some of the women who joined ESA in 2025 by stepping into leadership positions: Céline Begon, Christine Boelsche, Céline Folsché and Ildiko Raczne Szoke.

Céline Begon

A graduate of the Toulouse Institute of Political Studies, Céline Begon joined the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., where she served as a defence analyst (2011-2012) and then as deputy attaché for space affairs (2012-2014). She was then appointed to a mission on the security of European space programs at the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (2014-2018) at the French Prime Minister’s office. In August 2018, she was appointed advisor for space affairs at the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union and chair of the Space Group at the Council of the European Union from January to June 2022. In October 2022, Céline became Director of European Public Affairs at Thales Alenia Space. She was  then EU Key Account Manager at Thales, from May 2025. 

In November 2025, Céline joined ESA as the new Head of EU relations office and Head of the ESA Brussels office, acting as the main channel of communication towards the EU institutions (European Council, European Parliament and European Commission).

Christine Boelsche

Christine Bölsche is an experienced leader of Digital , Data, and IT matters across the pharmaceutical, healthcare, life science, and chemical industries. Her sweet spot lies at the intersection of business and technology — where artificial and human intelligence come together to position organisations for the future. With strong entrepreneurial thinking and deep strategic insight, she shapes digital transformations with a focus on sustainable business growth, innovation, efficiency, and scalability. She combines technological excellence with organisational transformation, enabling companies to manage operations in a data-driven way, make faster decisions, establish digital products, and grow more resiliently. Her work delivers measurable impact and positions digitalisation, data, and technology as central drivers of competitiveness and long-term business success. She has worked as Chief Digital and Information Officer of a global business unit at Merck KGaA, where she was responsible for driving digital and data strategic transformations along the entire value chain.

As of 2025, she serves as Chief Digital and Information Officer at ESA. Here, she leads IT teams across all establishments, with a mandate to advance ESA’s “Federation of IT”, aligning technology, processes, and people to provide a resilient, scalable, and future-ready technological backbone for the agency.

Céline Folsché

Céline Folsché serves as the Head of the Public International Law Division within the Legal Services Department at ESA, where she leads a dedicated team of lawyers responsible for advising the agency on matters of public international law. Her role encompasses the negotiation of agreements with international partners and providing in-depth legal analysis on the agency’s governance framework.

Having being admitted to the New York State Bar, Céline previously headed the International Law Unit at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and has held advisory positions at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has represented governments before international courts and lectured at leading French universities.

Ildiko Raczne Szoke

Ildikó Raczne Szoke is an experienced HR professional, having worked for more than 30 years in both the private and public sectors in international contexts. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of senior leadership roles covering the full breadth of Human Resources, including over a decade as Head of HR in multiple entities. Adept at translating complex strategic needs into practical, value-adding people solutions, she is deeply committed to developing talent, strengthening organisational capabilities and fostering inclusive, high performing cultures.

In September 2025, Ildikó joined ESA as Head of the Human Resources Department, after leading the Centre of Expertise in HR at the European Central Bank for more than eight years. At ESA, her mission is to drive a renewed HR policy agenda with a strong focus on developing a future-ready workforce, strengthening skills and enhancing career development.

Ildikó is passionate about her role and is always on the look-out for innovative HR solutions that support people’s development and build high-performing teams, while also promoting well-being and an inclusive organisational culture. She plays a central role in supporting ESA’s long-term transformation and Strategy 2040, ensuring the agency continues to attract, grow and retain exceptional talent across Europe.