Raytheon names Swanson CEO as Burnham steps down

The board of directors of Raytheon Co. has named William Swanson to succeed Daniel Burnham as chairman and chief executive officer effective July 1, the company announced April 23.Burnham. whose decision to step down was voluntary, will continue to serve Raytheon as non-executive chairman, according to the company.Swanson, who became president of the Lexington, Mass.-based company in July 2002, has been with Raytheon for more than 30 years. Before that, he was an executive vice president of Raytheon and president of the former Electronic Systems Inc., a defense electronics business.Swanson has held a wide range of positions during his tenure with the company, including manufacturing manager of the equipment division, senior vice president and general manager of the missile systems division and chairman and CEO of Raytheon Systems Company. Burnham joined Raytheon in July 1998 as president and chief operating officer from Allied Signal Inc., where he served as vice chairman and a member of the board of directors. He was appointed Raytheon's CEO in December 1998 and chairman in August 1999."Dan Burnham has brought a clear vision, strong leadership and critical change to Raytheon," said Warren Rudman, lead director of Raytheon's board of directors in a statement. "The board reluctantly accepted Dan's decision and is grateful to him for his exemplary service."