SAIC [SAI] yesterday said that John Jumper, a member of the company’s board of directors and the former chief of staff of the Air Force, will succeed Walt Havenstein as its CEO effective March 1.

Havenstein, who announced his plans to retire last October, became SAIC’s CEO in September 2009.

Regarding Jumper, who was the Air Force Chief of Staff from Sept. 2001 until Nov. 2005, SAIC Chairman A. Thomas Young said, “His leadership and experience particularly in national security have been invaluable to the board of directors these past five years. He knows our business and the industry extremely well and we are confident he will continue our 43-year tradition of success, outstanding customer satisfaction and superior performance.”

Young praised Havenstein for his leadership and help growing the company, saying in a statement that SAIC today is an $11 billion company. When Havenstein took over SAIC, it had just over $10 billion in sales. The company is forecasting sales in its current fiscal year between $10.6 billion and $11 billion. SAIC will report its FY ’12 results on March 20.

Jumper will remain a member of SAIC’s board.