BAE SYSTEMS Names Former US DHS Chief Michael Chertoff as Board Chairman
The former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff was elected as chairman of BAE Systems Inc. board of directors, giving the company leadership insight from a key Washington insider as it tries to boost sales to the military.
Chertoff will begin his three-year term on May 1. He has been a member of the company’s board since 2010. He replaces retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, whose term as chairman ends this month. Zinni became chairman in 2009.
“As an existing board member, we have benefited from Secretary Chertoff’s wise counsel and deep understanding of global security challenges,” CEO Linda Hudson said in a statement.
—
see also
—
Military contractors like BAE Systems are facing an increasingly tough business environment as lawmakers in Washington cut back spending. BAE Systems makes expensive military hardware like armored combat vehicles, Navy ships and satellite systems.
“As an existing board member, we have benefited from Secretary Chertoff’s wise counsel and deep understanding of global security challenges,” CEO Linda Hudson said in a statement.
BAE Systems Inc. is a U.S. division of London-based BAE Systems PLC. The U.S. branch sells arms to the government under the terms of a special security agreement.
Chertoff led the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2005 to early 2009. In that role, he oversaw a sprawling organization that bought many of the same kinds of technology that BAE sells, such as electronic systems or intelligence gathering equipment.
Chertoff is Chairman and Founder of the Chertoff Group, a security and risk management advisory firm with offices in Washington, D.C., New York and London. Chertoff is also senior of counsel at Covington & Burling LLP’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group.
Previously Chertoff served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He also served on the National Security and Homeland Security Councils, and on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Prior to his appointment to President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, he served from 2003 to 2005 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge, Chertoff was the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position, he oversaw the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and formed the Enron Task Force.
Chertoff’s career includes more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, including service as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a federal prosecutor, Chertoff investigated and personally prosecuted significant cases of political corruption, organized crime, and corporate fraud.
Chertoff is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. From 1979-1980, he served as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Jr. Chertoff has received numerous awards including the Department of Justice Henry E. Petersen Memorial Award (2006); the Department of Justice John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation (1987); NAACP Benjamin L. Hooks Award for Distinguished Service (2007); European Institute Transatlantic Leadership Award (2008); and two honorary doctorates. His trial experiences have been featured in over half a dozen books and many news articles.
