October 21, 2009
EADS North America will continue to benefit from strong leadership with the appointment of Sean O’Keefe as its new chief executive officer – which expands the company’s management team and allows current Chairman and CEO Ralph D. Crosby, Jr. to focus his attention on the company’s support of Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 tanker offering to the U.S. Air Force.
O’Keefe is set to assume his duties as EADS North America’s chief executive officer on November 1, 2009, and will join the Executive Committee of parent company EADS on January 1, 2010.
“Sean’s extensive experience and demonstrated leadership will make an immediate and positive contribution to our activities in the United States and throughout the global operations of EADS,” said Louis Gallois, Chief Executive Officer of EADS, during a press conference held yesterday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
O’Keefe previously headed GE Aviation’s Washington D.C. operations, and he served as the 10th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 2001 to 2005. His diverse career has included other assignments and responsibilities in government, industry and academic sectors.
“The expansion of our senior team and Sean’s assumption of leadership for our U.S. activities marks another key milestone in the company’s development,” said Crosby. “He brings the experience, capabilities, strategic mindset and focus that will add materially to taking us forward.”
Under the new management structure, Crosby will retain his position as chairman of the EADS North America board – and continue to oversee EADS North America’s tanker efforts in support of Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 tanker offering to the U.S. Air Force. EADS North America is the principal teammate on the KC-45, which Northrop Grumman and EADS North America are proposing as a solution to the Air Force’s aging air-to-air refueling fleet.
“This is a marvelous opportunity to take advantage of the continuity that Ralph Crosby brings to the organization and to this very important effort,” said O’Keefe.
He added that EADS North America will continue to gain from Crosby’s extensive defense industry knowledge and reach, as well as his understanding of the Air Force’s requirements in modernizing its aerial tanker aircraft inventory.
• For additional information on EADS North America’s management announcement, see the press release.
