Shea to lead new Harris IT services business

Stu Shea will serve as chief executive of Harris Corp.'s government IT services business, which was sold to private-equity firm Veritas Capital earlier this year, the firm announced today.

Shea previously was president and chief operating officer of Leidos and managed its split from Science Applications International Corp., where he had served as chief operating officer.

Veritas bought the Harris unit for $690 million; the unit was expected to earn about $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2017 revenue.

Shea told Inside Defense this week he was drawn to the Harris business because of its size and capabilities. He argued mid-tier contractors with about $1 billion to $2 billion in annual revenue are particularly well-positioned in the market.

"Big doesn't matter as much as it used to," he said. "It's about really making a mission difference."

Several large contractors have divested their services businesses in recent years. L3 Technologies sold off its services unit to CACI International, while Lockheed merged its IT services unit with Leidos.

Shea said he has spent the last two months working to fully understand the Harris business. The unit will maintain its Herndon headquarters, and it will announce a new name within about a month, Shea said, adding that he's working to complete the leadership team.