Trading Places

By Marcus Weisgerber / October 29, 2010 at 9:27 PM

Former Lockheed Martin F-35 boss Dan Crowley has been named president of Raytheon Network Centric Systems effective Nov. 1, according to a Raytheon statement released late this afternoon.

The move comes barely six months after Crowley was appointed as chief operating officer of Lockheed's aeronautics business.

Crowley served as Lockheed's Joint Strike Fighter general manager from 2005 to 2010, and was appointed as COO of the company's aeronautics business in May. At the time, Larry Lawson, who previously led the company's F-22A fighter program, was put in charge of the F-35 program. Crowley had maintained a low profile since his promotion. In late September, he attended a Lockheed ceremony in Marietta, GA, in honor of the company delivering the first production C-5M Super Galaxy cargo aircraft.

Crowley will replace Colin Schottlaender, the Raytheon division's president since August 2002, who is retiring on Dec. 31. "As Crowley transitions into his new role, Schottlaender will work with him during the interim period prior to Schottlaender's retirement date," the announcement reads. The McKinney, TX -based division of Raytheon has more than 13,000 employees.

From the statement:

Crowley brings significant experience in the aerospace and defense industry to NCS' top leadership role, including 27 years with Lockheed Martin Corporation.

"Dan's extensive industry background and deep expertise in operations, engineering, strategic business development and global customer engagement are ideally suited to his new role with Raytheon and I'm pleased to welcome him to the team," said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company.

"I want to sincerely thank Colin for his outstanding service to our company and customers, and congratulate him on his distinguished 33-plus-year career," Swanson continued. "While our company will clearly miss Colin's leadership skills, customer focus and extensive management talents, all of us wish him the very best in his pending retirement."

Earlier this year, Lockheed stood behind Crowley as Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired then-JSF Program Manager Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Heinz and launched a massive overhaul of the multibillion dollar program, which is significantly over budget and behind schedule.

Lockheed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Stevens told reporters on March 4 in a conference call that he had "absolute confidence in him in this role, and I'm going to continue to strengthen Dan and his team." He added: "I have no desire or expectation of removing Dan from the program management responsibilities on the F-35."

62003