Northrop board elects COO, CFO

The board of directors of Northrop Grumman Corp. has elected Wesley Bush chief operating officer of Northrop Grumman in addition to his current title of president.

The board of directors also elected James Palmer corporate vice president and chief financial officer, succeeding Bush as CFO. Both elections are effective March 12, 2007, the company said.

Bush joined Northrop Grumman in 2002 as part of the company's acquisition of TRW Inc. Following Northrop Grumman's acquisition of TRW, Bush was elected corporate vice president and president of the company's Space Technology sector. In 2005, he was elected corporate vice president and CFO and in 2006, he was elected president and CFO.

Bush and Palmer will report to Ronald Sugar, chairman of the board and CEO. Northrop Grumman said the appointments complete the search for a CFO that the company announced in May 2006.

As CFO, Palmer will be responsible for the company's overall business management activities. He also will provide leadership to the business management organizations within the operating sectors of the company, the company said.

Palmer will join Northrop Grumman from Visteon Corp. where he currently serves as executive vice president and CFO. He joined Visteon in June 2004, after four years as president of Boeing Capital Corp. From 1997 to 2000 he was president of Boeing Shared Services.