Dahlberg to lead SAIC

Kenneth Dahlberg will be the next chief executive officer of Science Applications International Corp., company founder J. Robert Beyster told the company's more than 40,000 employees today in a memo.San Diego-based SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, with $5.9 billion in annual revenue. Dahlberg, 58, will take over from Beyster as CEO on Nov. 3. He comes to SAIC from General Dynamics Corp. of Falls Church, Va., where he is executive vice president of the Information Systems and Technology group. At SAIC, Dahlberg will be based in San Diego.Beyster, 79, said in his memo to employees that he will remain chairman of SAIC's board until the board selects a new chairman. His current term expires in July 2004. He has led SAIC for more than 34 years."We believe that Ken Dahlberg has the leadership qualities needed in a CEO to execute our strategic vision for the SAIC of the future, and he has demonstrated to the board that he has the understanding and appreciation of how important our employee-ownership culture is to SAIC and its employees," Beyster said in a statement. The company's board of directors unanimously approved Dahlberg's selection, Beyster said. Beyster announced in April that he would retire by February 2004, sooner if a replacement was found. The Board of Directors created a search committee which, with the assistance of two executive search firms ? Savoy Partners in Washington and Heidrick & Struggles in Menlo Park, Calif. ? evaluated internal and external candidates. The candidates were evaluated on criteria set by the board, with input from SAIC employees. Dahlberg said he was honored to be selected. "SAIC is legendary in the industry, and the employee-owners in this company are known for their technical prowess and commitment to supporting customers on very complex technical problems," he said in a statement. "I'm dedicated to ensuring we continue to provide the proper environment to our employee-owners and foster the creative innovation and commitment SAIC customers have come to rely upon."John Allen, co-chief executive officer of Windsor Group LLC, a Reston, Va., investment banking firm, said Dahlberg is a good choice."He has a very strong operational background, has been involved in some major acquisitions and helped accelerate the growth of General Dynamics' IT business, particularly in the intelligence community. He's a strong leader for SAIC," Allen said. Dahlberg has held leadership positions in public companies and in a private company. That experience will be an asset at SAIC, Allen said. "As a private, employee-owned company, SAIC operates somewhat differently than its public peers. I think he has the perspective of what it takes to lead a multibillion-dollar private company," Allen said. "He's going to a company that has outstanding balance sheet and a great portfolio of businesses. He's got a great opportunity in front of him."Prior to joining General Dynamics, Dahlberg served as executive vice president for business development at Raytheon Co. of Lexington, Mass., and as president of its Raytheon International Inc. subsidiary. Dahlberg was responsible for international and domestic business development and government relations. Previously, he was president and chief operating officer of Raytheon Systems Co., where he had operations oversight for all of Raytheon's defense business units. Dahlberg served as a corporate vice president of Hughes Electronics Corp. and as a senior vice president of Hughes Aircraft Company prior to the 1997 merger of Raytheon and Hughes Aircraft Co. Dahlberg joined Hughes in 1967 and held various engineering, program management and leadership positions. Dahlberg earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. He also attended the University of California, Los Angeles, business school for advanced education for executives. He is a member of the National Defense Industrial Association Board of Directors, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Society of Naval Engineers, Surface Navy Association, and the Navy League.