A month after completing its $5 billion acquisition of defense company Exelis, Harris Corp. [HRS] on Wednesday said it is reorganizing into four business segments aimed at improving operational efficiencies and capturing synergies.
“We combined Harris’ and Exelis’ top talent and technology to create four market-focused segments aligned with Harris’ strategic growth platforms,” William Brown, chairman, president and CEO of Harris, said in a statement. “Our new structure will help us improve our competitive position, increase efficiency, and capture synergies, while we continue to bring innovative and affordable solutions to our customers.”
The new alignment goes into effect on July 4, the start of Harris’ fiscal year 2016.
The Communications Systems segment will be led by Chris Young, who previously ran the Geospatial Systems business of Exelis. The segment will serve the tactical and airborne radio, night vision technology, and defense and public safety network markets. The night vision and communications solutions businesses of Exelis are part of this segment.
Carl D’Alessandro will be president of the Critical Networks segment, which will provide managed services supporting air traffic management, energy and maritime communications, ground network operation and sustainment, and high-value information technology and engineering services. D’Alessandro previously was vice president and general manager of Harris’ Civil business unit, which appears to have the same business areas as the new Critical Networks segment. Most of Exelis’ information systems business, excluding space superiority, is included in Critical Networks.
The Electronic Systems segment will be led by Ed Zoiss, who previously was in charge of the Defense unit within the former Government Communications Systems segment of Harris. Business areas within the new segment include electronic warfare, avionics, wireless technology, C4I, undersea systems and aerostructures. A broad range of Exelis businesses are in this segment, including avionics and wireless products, electronic warfare, undersea systems and aerostructures.
Space and Intelligence Systems, the fourth segment, includes earth observation, weather, geospatial, space protection, advanced sensors and payloads, and ground processing and information analytics. The segment will be led by Bill Gattle, who previously was vice president and general manager of the National Systems business unit of Harris, responsible for the United States intelligence community and worldwide space market. As with Electronic Systems, a number of former Exelis businesses are in this segment as well as its GPS business.
A spokesman for Harris told Defense Daily that the company couldn’t provide annual sales figures yet for each segment and said there are no specific costs or savings associated with the reorganization. Harris completed its acquisition of Exelis in late May, creating a roughly $8 billion company.
Harris previously was organized into three segments: RF Communications; Government Communications Systems; and Integrated Network Solutions. Sheldon Fox, the former president of Government Communications Systems who has been leading the integration of Exelis into Harris, is now senior vice president, Integration and Engineering for the company.
Dana Mehnert, former president of RF Communications, is now senior vice president and chief global business development officer with responsibility for driving sales growth and capturing large multi-year business opportunities. Fox and Mehnert will report to Brown.
“Our new leadership team has extensive industry experience, a proven track record and a deep commitment to meeting customer expectations,” Brown said.