Spirit AeroSystems [SPR] yesterday said that its board of directors has named Larry Lawson, who until Monday was the head of Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] $15 billion Aeronautics division, as its new president and CEO effective April 6.
Lawson, 55, will succeed Jeff Turner, who has been Spirit’s CEO since the company’s formation in 2005 when it was sold by Boeing [BA].
“The board sought a CEO armed with a strong record of operating and financial performance on both mature and new aircraft programs with the ability to take Spirit to the next level,” Bob Johnson, Spirit’s chairman, said in a statement.
At Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Lawson oversaw a diverse range of aircraft programs from the F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighters to the C-5 and C-130J transport aircraft. Prior to heading Aeronautics, Lawson was the company’s program manager on the F-22 from 2004 until 2010 followed by a stint as program manager of the F-35.
Spirit, with $5.4 billion in annual sales, makes aerostructures for commercial aircraft. All of Boeing’s planes contain Spirit hardware as do a majority of Airbus aircraft. Airbus is the commercial aircraft division of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.
Jefferies aerospace and defense analyst Howard Rubel said in a client note yesterday that Lawson is regarded for his experience with high rate aerostructures manufacturing. He also said that Lawson has been “characterized as a ‘Franchise Player’ by several of his peers.”
Lockheed Martin on Monday named Orlando Carvalho to succeed Lawson (Defense Daily, March 19). Carvalho had been the company’s program chief on the F-35.