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Laurent Rinchet Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

AgeNot Known

ProfessionAerospace Engineer

NationalityFrench

Marital statusMarried

SpouseKoel Purie

FamilyHas a daughter; son-in-law of Aroon Purie and Rekha Purie; related by marriage to Kalli Purie and Ankoor Purie

Laurent Rinchet Biography

Laurent Rinchet is a French aerospace engineer with a long career in European and international defence and space roles. Educated in engineering and later—

Early life and background

Laurent Rinchet is a French aerospace professional whose formal education combines engineering and executive management. He completed a computer science, electronic and telecoms engineering degree at ISEP in Paris. Later professional development included executive education at Columbia Business School in New York and an executive program at MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge.

Career

Rinchet's career has been focused on the defence and space sector, beginning in the late 1990s. In October 1997 he took a role as Space and Security Project Manager at MATRA and Aerospatiale, working in The Hague and Rome until 2002. He moved into bid and commercial roles at the start of the 2000s, serving as Bid Director at EADS Telecoms from October 2002 to September 2004 with responsibilities across Paris, Brussels and London.

He then joined EADS and Cassidian as Regional Sales Director for Europe and NATO, based in Paris. Between 2006 and 2010 he was Regional Sales Director for Airbus Defence and Space in New Delhi. Over the following decade Rinchet progressed through senior strategy and commercial positions at Airbus and its defence and space businesses. In January 2011 he became Vice President in the corporate strategy department at Airbus (France), a role he held until June 2015.

From mid-2015 he took on leadership postings overseas, serving as Head of Airbus in Tokyo from July 2015 to September 2017. In September 2017 he was elevated to Head of UAS Sales in Paris. Rinchet subsequently acted as a brand ambassador for the ctn group for a one-month appointment in January 2018. In January 2020 he was appointed Head of Zephyr Global Sales, operating between Paris and London until May 2022. In May 2022 he began his current role as Senior Director of Space Strategy at Airbus Defence and Space in France.

Professional development and certifications

Throughout his career Rinchet has added a number of professional certificates and short programmes. In January 2009 he earned an APMP professional certificate in capture planning and proposal management. He pursued executive education in strategic growth and change at Columbia Business School in 2012 and completed an executive program in general management, innovation and technology at MIT Sloan in 2014–2015. Additional certificates include entrepreneurship and business problem-solving courses from edX and MIT Sloan Executive Education, and a financial analysis programme from the University of Melbourne earned in August 2022. In November 2021 he completed MIT Sloan Executive Education modules on team building and enterprise leadership.

Public profile

Rinchet is known publicly both for his professional roles in the aerospace and defence industry and for his family connections. He is married to Indian actress Koel Purie; the couple were engaged and subsequently married in February 2009. They have a daughter. Rinchet speaks several languages in addition to French, including English, Hindi, Japanese and Spanish. His listed physical characteristics include a height of approximately 177 cm (about 5 feet 10 inches), dark brown hair and black eyes.

Latest updates

As of May 2022 Laurent Rinchet is Senior Director of Space Strategy at Airbus Defence and Space in France. His career history shows a steady progression from technical and project management roles into senior commercial and strategic leadership positions across Europe and Asia. He continues to add short-course credentials in management and finance as part of his professional development.
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Recent Work

Senior Director of Space Strategy, Airbus Defence and Space

Appointed to the role in May 2022, leading space strategy for Airbus Defence and Space in France.

2022
Head of Zephyr Global Sales

Led global sales for the Zephyr programme from January 2020 to May 2022, based in Paris and London.

2020
Head of UAS Sales, Airbus

Promoted to head of unmanned air systems sales in September 2017, based in Paris.

2017
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Career Highlights

  1. Space and Security Project Manager at MATRA and Aerospatiale (1997–2002)
  2. Bid Director at EADS Telecoms (2002–2004)
  3. Regional Sales Director for Airbus Defence and Space in New Delhi (2006–2010)
  4. Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Airbus (2011–2015)
  5. Head of Airbus, Tokyo (2015–2017)
  6. Senior Director of Space Strategy, Airbus Defence and Space (from 2022)
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Laurent Rinchet known for?

Aerospace Engineer

What is Laurent Rinchet’s marital status?

Married

Who is Laurent Rinchet married to?

Koel Purie