The White House announced Tuesday night its intention to nominate Ellen Lord, president and CEO of Textron’s [TXT] Textron Systems business segment, as under secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L).
If confirmed, Lord will subsequently serve as under secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment when the Office of the Secretary of Defense is mandated to reorganize and split AT&L by Feb. 1, 2018.
The fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directs DoD to replace the under secretary for AT&L with an undersecretary for Research and Engineering and an undersecretary for Acquisition and Sustainment (Defense Daily, Dec. 8, 2016).
The acquisition and sustainment role is set to focus on current acquisition programs while the new undersecretary of research and engineering will focus on innovation and developing new technology. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, a temporary holdover from the Obama administration, last month said the DoD expects to complete the shift before the Feb. 1, 2018 deadline and they are excited about it (Defense Daily, May 3).
Lord has been the president and CEO of Textron Systems since 2012 after working her way up through the company, which she’s been with since 1996. In that role she managed businesses providing hardware and software for unmanned systems, precision weapons, marine craft, armored vehicles, simulation and training, electronic warfare, and intelligence software to the U.S. military and international customers.
Earlier, Lord served in Textron as senior vice president and general manager at the company’s defense systems division (now called weapons and sensor system), senior vice president and general manager of AAI Corporation (now Textron’s electronic systems, support solutions, and unmanned systems businesses), vice president of integration management, vice president for intelligent battlefield systems, and vice president of strategic planning.
Before working for Textron’s defense businesses, she served for over a decade at Textron Automotive Technology Center.
President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) David Melcher welcomed the nomination in a statement on Wednesday.
“Ms. Lord is extremely well-qualified to lead AT&L, particularly during the upcoming critical transition phase,” he said. “Ms. Lord’s breadth of experience across an array of acquisition-related areas of expertise, to include advanced technologies and systems across the security sector and the complex area of foreign military sales, is exactly what is needed to oversee the Department’s critical acquisition, technology and logistics mission,” he added.
AIA is a trade association that represents the aerospace and defense industries in Washington, D.C. and internationally. Scott Donnelly, the chairman, president, and CEO of Textron, Inc. is on the executive committee of AIA’s board of governors.
Lord previously spoke about the need for contractors and the Pentagon to use acquisition reform efforts as an opportunity to adjust to a new commercial and globalized defense reality.
At a 2014 conference she said DoD should keep procurement programs on track and return to more firm fixed-price contracts because other types disincentives efforts to become more efficient because they involve so much overhead costs that profits shrink (Defense Daily, Nov. 19, 2014).
At the conference she also advocated for less reliance on the traditional acquisition process and using a more commercial approach where appropriate.
“I think there’s a great opportunity to look at acquisition a little bit differently. Instead of always bubbling up from a requirements process with lots and lots of and lots of stringent requirements, perhaps there’s an opportunity, again from the commercial point of view, to say what the need is and be able to take products that are developed by industry and not come up through that requirements process,” Lord said in 2014.
Lord serves on the board of directors of the Naval Institute Foundation, the U.S. India Business Council, the Defense Technology Initiative, and vice chair of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
She is also currently a member of a task force on strategy, technology, and the global defense industry at the Center for a New American Security think tank along with several industry executives and former government officials.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Lord has regularly donated to the company’s political action committee (PAC) since the 2007-2008 election cycle and in 2015-16 that reached thousands of dollars total. The Textron Inc. PAC disburses hundreds of thousands of dollars to various political campaigns each year.
The PAC donations heavily favor Republican candidates and legislators, but also include a fair amount of Democratic officials. The records do not show donations focused particularly on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Lord’s confirmation hearings will be held, but rather important political, defense, and appropriations leaders more generally.
Textron named Lisa Atherton to succeed Lord. Atherton previously served as the executive vice president pf Military Business at Bell Helicopter where she provided strategic direction, overall management and performance for all government programs and business development efforts, the company said.
Atherton joined Bell Helicopter in 2012 and held positions including vice president of global military business development, V-22 program manager, and director of military programs. She first joined Textron in 2007 as vice president of area attack at Textron Systems’ defense systems operating unit.
Previously Atherton served in the U.S. Air Force and spent eight years in Air Combat Command’s directorate of requirements, which helps plan budget and operational requirements for combat air forces.
Donnelly said “Lisa is a proven leader who will provide the direction and guidance for Textron Systems to execute our current programs and generate future growth.”
He also congratulated Lord “on her nomination to this position in the Department of Defense and thank her for her many years of leadership at Textron Systems.”