DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Government-services contractor SAIC Inc. (SAI) named Walter P.
Havenstein as chief executive, a day after BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN)
announced he was leaving as chief executive officer of its U.S.
operations.
Following that announcement Monday, Dow Jones Newswires, citing
a person familiar with the matter, reported that Haverstein would
become CEO at the U.S. defense contractor. He is succeeding Ken
Dahlberg, who is retiring according to the company's mandatory
executive-officer retirement plan.
Dahlberg, who has been SAIC's CEO since October 2003, will leave
Sept. 20, but remain chairman through the company's annual meeting
next June.
Dahlberg said Havenstein has demonstrated success at BAE Systems
during his decade-long tenure there, managing the company's U.S.
unit, with 53,000 employees and annual sales of more than $20
billion.
Havenstein will also become a member of SAIC's board. He also
served as president of Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)
company, and held executive posts at Raytheon Co. (RTN) before
that.
Wall Street has long seen SAIC as a safe haven from the broader
economy because it derives a large majority of its revenue by
providing security services for the U.S. government. However, like
other defense contractors, SAIC faces concerns that the Obama
administration and a solidly Democratic Congress may direct
spending toward different priorities.
SAIC's shares closed Monday at $18.18 and haven't traded
premarket.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089;
kerry.grace@dowjones.com
