A day after adding a former Navy acquisition chief to its executive roster, L3 Technologies [LLL] on Tuesday said it has hired retired Army Lt. Gen. Patrick “Pat” O’Reilly, former director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), to a new corporate engineering role.
O’Reilly will report to Paul DeLia, L3’s Chief Technology Officer, and will help L3 President and CEO Christopher Kubasik with his efforts to better integrate technical and systems solutions capabilities across the company, which was built over the past 21 years through 130 acquisitions.
Kubasik wants to ensure that L3 is agile in responding to customer demands, bringing innovative, more affordable solutions to market faster than traditional prime contractors while taking advantage of its scale. The company expects to report about $11 billion in sales for 2017.
“Pat brings extensive systems engineering and management expertise that will advance cross-segment innovations and identify promising new technologies within L3,” Kubasik said in a statement. “His understanding of current DoD priorities and successful track record in managing large, complex programs will help us better coordinate capabilities across our business and accelerate the development and delivery of state-of-the art solutions.”
For Kubasik, O’Reilly is his second key hire this year. On Monday, L3 announced the appointment of Sean Stackley, the Navy’s top acquisition official under the Obama administration, as corporate vice president, Strategic Advanced Programs and Technology, who will focus on positioning the company’s core capabilities, business opportunities, and mergers and acquisitions (Defense Daily, Jan 3). Kubasik became president CEO of L3 on Jan. 1 after holding the roles of president and chief operating officer previously.
Both O’Reilly’s and Stackley’s appointments are effective immediately. O’Reilly’s title is corporate vice president, Engineering.
O’Reilly retired from the Army in 2013 after serving for 35 years, including four years heading MDA from 2008 until 2012. His management of MDA came under fire for inappropriate treatment of subordinates.
Following allegations of O’Reilly’s behavior, the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General conducted an investigation that found he “yelled and screamed at subordinates in both public and private settings,” that “he demeaned and belittled employees, and in at least one incident, demanded that a subordinate use profane language to admit an alleged error made by the subordinate,” according to a May 2, 2012, report by the audit agency.
The report found that O’Reilly’s “leadership style was inconsistent” with DoD and Army regulations for ethics and treatment of subordinates. He disagreed with the IG’s findings and “questioned the objectivity and accuracy of witness testimony,” the report said.
During his Army career, O’Reilly oversaw several key missile defense program, including as project manager for Directed Energy, the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, and the Ground-based Midcourse Defense programs. He also served as Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Support and Combat Service Support.
Before his appointment to L3, O’Reilly was senior vice president, Government and Defense at Alphabet Energy, a California-based alternative energy company
O’Reilly is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and also taught physics there.
The additions of O’Reilly and Stackley mark three new hires by L3 in newly created positions in the past month.
In mid-December, L3 hired John Feren, a former commercial aircraft executive with Boeing [BA], to bolster its commercial aviation business. Feren was appointed to the newly created position of vice president of Business Development and Marketing for Commercial Aviation within the Electronic Systems segment. After a 30-year career with Boeing, Feren joined the commercial aircraft leasing company Aviation Capital Group, part of Pacific Life Insurance Company, until his hiring by L3.