Northrop Grumman [NOC] yesterday said it was combining several of its business sectors to improve alignment with its customers and strengthen performance and cost competitiveness.
“These actions are critical steps in shaping our future,” Ron Sugar, Northrop Grumman’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Key to our success is the early anticipation of changes in our markets, and then the adjustment of our business structure to better position us to address our customers’ needs and improve our competitiveness.”
The new Aerospace Systems sector, led by Gary Ervin, combines the Integrated Systems and Space Technology sectors into an approximately $10 billion business that develops and builds manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile systems and advanced technologies. Ervin previously was president of Integrated Systems.
The Information Systems sector combines the former Information Technology (IT) and Mission Systems sectors and will be led by Linda Mills, who was president of IT. Information Systems is also about a $10 billion business.
The latest reorganization follows the consolidation of the company’s two separate shipbuilding sectors a year ago into a single Shipbuilding sector (Defense Daily, Jan. 17, 2008). Philip Teel, who headed the old Ship Systems sector and then became head of Mission Systems last January, will retire at the end of this month.
Northrop Grumman now has five business sectors. The other two are Electronic Systems and Technical Services.
Separately, Alexis Livanos, was named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Northrop Grumman. The CTO position is new for Northrop Grumman and “addresses the increasing performance of technological innovation in positioning the company for the future,” a company spokesman told Defense Daily.
Emerging customer needs and issues include cybersecurity, more integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, and integrating climate change data into “actionable information,” the spokesman said.
Livanos previously headed the Space Technology sector.