Mercury Systems announces board of directors leadership changes

Mercury Systems this week announced leadership changes to the company's board of directors.

Bill Ballhaus, Mercury’s interim president and CEO, will assume the role of board chairman, effective immediately prior to the 2023 annual shareholders meeting, according to a Thursday statement. As previously announced, William O'Brien, the board’s current chairman, will retire at that time.

O'Brien has been chairman since October 2021.

Additionally, the company announced that Mary Louise Krakauer has decided to retire from the board, effective immediately prior to the annual meeting. Consequently, Howard Lance will assume the position of chair of the board's human capital and compensation committee at that time.

Further, Mercury said that "[c]onsistent with the Board's ongoing commitment to refreshment, it has appointed Scott Ostfeld -- Managing Partner of JANA Partners LLC ('JANA') -- as a Class II director, effective immediately upon conclusion of customary onboarding," according to a July 6 company statement.

Ostfeld will serve as a member of the board's human capital and compensation and M&A and finance committees, and as a board member will also be involved in its CEO search process.

As a result of these changes, Mercury announced the board has approved a reduction by two seats that will be effective immediately prior to the annual meeting. As of that meeting, the board will be comprised of nine directors, five of whom will have been appointed in the past two years, according to the statement.