By Jonathan Buck
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN) Monday appointed Linda Hudson as chief operating officer and as head of its U.S. subsidiary.
Hudson, 59, succeeds Walt Havenstein as president and chief executive of BAE Systems Inc. Havenstein left BAE Systems in the summer to become chief executive of U.S. defense contractor SAIC Inc. (SAI). He was replaced on an interim basis by retired U.S. Army Gen. Anthony Zinni, chairman of BAE Systems Inc.
Hudson also was named an executive director of BAE Systems.
She is one of the most senior female executives in the defense industry and was named this year among U.S. magazine Fortune's 50 most powerful women.
Hudson joined BAE Systems in December 2006 and, in January 2007, was appointed head of BAE Systems land and armaments group, which manufactures armaments and combat vehicles, among other things. She led the $4.1 billion acquisition in the U.S. of Armor Holdings Inc., which effectively doubled the size of the group's land systems operations. The division in 2008 posted revenue of $11.9 billion.
One of Hudson's priorities likely will be to try to win back a military truck contract potentially worth billions of dollars to build for the U.S. Army a fleet of midsize trucks, known as the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.
The follow-on contract in August was awarded to U.S. rival Oshkosh Corp. (OSK). BAE Systems in September filed a formal protest against the decision.
BAE Systems is one of the biggest contractors to the U.S. Department of Defense and generates about 60% of its revenue in North America.
Hudson has more than 30 years' experience in the aerospace and defense industries, and previously worked at General Dynamics Corp. (GD) and at Martin Marietta, now part of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT).
Company Web site: www.baesystems.co.uk
-By Jonathan Buck, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 8237; jonathan.buck@dowjones.com