AWS European Sovereign Cloud Governance
European-based control, governance, and operations
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will operate with an independent governance structure, dedicated Security Operations Center, and under a newly established parent company that will be locally controlled in the European Union (EU), led by EU citizens, and subject to local laws. AWS will establish a new European organization and operating model for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, with a new parent company and three subsidiaries incorporated in Germany.
The dedicated European subsidiaries will implement controls for keeping customer content and customer-created metadata within the EU. To operate the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, they will employ EU resident personnel and own the underlying infrastructure. Additionally, these subsidiaries will maintain EU- based root certificates and trust services to authenticate the security and identity of cloud services. The management team of the new parent company will include Kathrin Renz and Stéphane Israël, both EU citizens residing in the EU and experienced business leaders, strengthening the operational autonomy of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.
Meet the Executive Leadership Team
Kathrin Renz
Kathrin Renz, Vice President of AWS Industries, is a German national who brings deep global and European expertise to the position with more than two decades of experience in the global technology sector, including key roles in European technology and large enterprises. Renz is passionate about digital transformation and deeply committed to helping customers across the globe to accelerate their adoption of and migration to the cloud, most recently aided by generative AI.
Renz was appointed as the first managing director of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in June 2025. Based in Germany, Renz is responsible for overseeing decisions related to corporate governance and compliance while ensuring the AWS European Sovereign Cloud complies with all applicable laws and regulations in Germany and the EU.
Stéphane Israël
Stéphane Israël, leader of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, is a French national and seasoned executive with extensive experience in European technology. Prior to joining AWS, he was the CEO of Arianespace, Europe's leading satellite launch company and a launch provider for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, where he oversaw numerous successful space missions, including the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, and fostered strong relationships with both public and private sector stakeholders across Europe and beyond.
Based in Germany, Israël was appointed as the second managing director of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in October 2025. He will be responsible for the management and operations of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, including infrastructure, technology, and services, as well as leading AWS's broader digital sovereignty efforts.
Advisory Board
AWS will establish an independent advisory board for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, legally obligated to act in the best interest of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Reinforcing the sovereign control of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, the advisory board will consist of four members, all EU citizens residing in the EU, including at least one independent board member who is not affiliated with Amazon. The advisory board will act as a source of expertise and provide accountability on sovereignty-related aspects of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud operations, including strong security and access controls and the ability to operate independently in the event of disruption.
Security Operations
Secure by Design
Security is foundational to digital sovereignty and AWS is architected to be the most secure global cloud infrastructure on which to build, migrate, and manage applications and workloads. AWS has always been secure by design, defining industry-leading practices, technologies, and controls that are deeply integrated across all layers, from the physical data centers to the network design, and service architectures, ensuring robust security and data protection for customers' applications and data.
Dedicated European Security Operations Center
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be secured by a dedicated European Security Operations Center (SOC) that mirrors global security practices. To bring our trusted solutions and operations to customers of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, we will extend our security operations to the dedicated SOC. This SOC will be supported by a dedicated security leader who will be an EU citizen residing in the EU. The security leader will be responsible for advising the managing directors and supporting customers and regulators in Europe on security-related matters.
Regulatory Engagement
AWS continues to work closely with regulators across Europe, including the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), which has established leading security standards for cloud providers in Germany and beyond. Earlier this year, AWS and the BSI signed a co-operation agreement, and a key priority of that agreement was to further the governance, technical standards for operational separation, and data flow management required for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, enabling compliance with BSI's digital sovereignty requirements.