EDS names Rittenmeyer CEO

Ronald Rittenmeyer, president and chief operating officer of EDS Corp., has been elected president and chief executive officer by the company's board of directors.

Rittenmeyer will assume his new position on Sept. 1. At the same time, he also was appointed to the board, effective immediately.

Michael H. Jordan, who has served as chairman and CEO since March 2003, will remain chairman and an executive officer of the company.

Rittenmeyer joined EDS in 2005 as executive vice president of service delivery. He was later promoted to COO, and in December 2006, he also was named president. Under his leadership, EDS transformed its entire sales and delivery operations, and made dramatic improvements in quality and productivity, Jordan said.

Rittenmeyer has more than 30 years of business and leadership experience. Before joining EDS, he served as managing director of The Cypress Group, a private equity firm, responsible for the company's $3.5 billion investment portfolio.

He previously served as chairman, CEO and president of Safety-Kleen Inc., a hazardous and industrial waste management company, which he successfully led out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Rittenmeyer also was CEO and president of AmeriServe; chairman, CEO and president of RailTex Inc.; president and COO of Ryder TRS Inc., a truck rental company; and COO of Burlington Northern Railroad.

EDS of Plano, Texas, ranks No. 10 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.