Arnaud Chivard recently took over at the helm of SkySoft. I checked in with him to discover his immediate and future plans.
Q: Your career path brought you to Airbus for six years and then to Skyguide for almost two years. How does this background in aviation shape your role at SkySoft?
My career has given me a unique combination of perspectives. At Airbus Defence and Space, I worked on large-scale, highly regulated programmes where industrial rigour, digital continuity and systems engineering are essential to deliver complex solutions efficiently. That experience taught me how to build strong engineering foundations while maintaining competitiveness and quality.
More recently, at Skyguide, I experienced first-hand the operational reality of an ANSP. Managing applications that support air traffic services in a 24/7 safety-critical environment gave me a deep appreciation for the challenges our customers face every day.
Bringing these two perspectives together is what I hope to contribute to SkySoft: the ability to combine industrial excellence with operational relevance. We must continue delivering highly reliable ATM solutions while remaining pragmatic, innovative and close to our customers. The relationships I have built across the ATM community are also an asset that I hope will help strengthen SkySoft’s partnerships in Switzerland and beyond.
Q: In this new position, you are stepping into the footsteps of Claude Levacher, who retired after two decades with SkySoft, first in sales and then as CEO. What did he tell you when passing the baton, and what did you tell him?
Claude and I had the privilege of a four-month transition period, which allowed us to exchange far more than could ever be summarised in a few sentences. What struck me most was his deep attachment to SkySoft – not only to the company itself, but also to its customers, partners and employees.
His message was simple: take care of what has been built and continue moving the company forward. Around the same time, Didier Berling, one of SkySoft’s founders and a driving force behind its innovation, was also retiring. Their departures marked the end of an important chapter in the company’s history.
I told both of them that I would do my utmost to honour their legacy while preparing SkySoft for its future.
You do not replace people who have dedicated decades of their lives to building a company. You become the custodian of what they created and help write the next chapter with the same passion, commitment and sense of responsibility.
Q: As you take over the reins from Claude, are you looking at systemic changes or focusing on continuity?
Every leadership transition brings an element of both continuity and change. Continuity is what our customers expect; transformation is what the future requires.
SkySoft has tremendous strengths: an exceptional team, a strong product portfolio and decades of ATM expertise. Preserving those strengths is essential. At the same time, our industry is evolving rapidly. Regulatory expectations, digitalisation, cybersecurity, cloud technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping the ATM landscape.
My objective is not to reinvent SkySoft, but to help it evolve. We must maintain the reliability and customer focus that have built our reputation while preparing the company for the next generation of ATM challenges. I am confident that our people, expertise and culture position us very well to remain ahead of that curve.
Q: The regulatory context keeps evolving, especially with EASA implementing the DPO framework. How will SkySoft put this in place, and what will the organisation’s role be with respect to Skyguide?
The decision for SkySoft to become the DPO for the Skyguide Group reflects both our expertise and our strategic role within the ATM ecosystem.
The DPO framework is not only a regulatory requirement; it is also an opportunity. It allows us to clarify responsibilities between the provider of ATM systems and the provider of air navigation services, while strengthening accountability across the entire value chain.
For SkySoft, it represents another step in our industrial maturity journey. For Skyguide and our other customers, it reinforces confidence that the systems they rely on, are developed, maintained and evolved according to the highest standards.
The challenge will be to formalise these responsibilities without losing the close partnership that has always existed between our organisations. I am convinced we can achieve both.
Q: We recently spoke with Skyguide’s CEO Peter Merz, who mentioned the number of options currently being examined. How does SkySoft contribute to this discussion?
SkySoft has actively contributed to the discussions around core versus non-core activities and make-or-buy decisions. We share the view that air navigation service providers should always have access to the most appropriate solutions available on the market.
Competition is healthy. It drives innovation, efficiency and quality. Skyguide already operates systems sourced from multiple providers, and that diversity will remain an important feature of the future ATM ecosystem.
Our ambition is not to be chosen because of proximity or history. It is to be chosen because we provide the best value to our customers through reliable products, strong innovation and deep ATM expertise.
The introduction of the DPO framework reinforces this market dynamic. We welcome that challenge. It gives SkySoft an opportunity to continue improving and to demonstrate why customers in Switzerland and around the world trust us with mission-critical ATM systems.
