No. 3: Northrop's crystal ball

Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Linda Mills hastaken the reins of the company's $4.5 billioninformation technology unit in McLean, Va., ata time when federal budgets are tightening anda presidential transition looms.She's leading the IT services component ofthe largest and fastest-growing division ofNorthrop Grumman, and the sector is wellpositionedto benefit from the continueddemand for technology in homeland security,intelligence, military and health care for federal,state and local agencies.The company's $12.6 billion Information andServices division ? which includes IT, MissionSystems and Technical Services ? enjoyed an 11percent growth rate in the past year, Mills said.With federal prime-contracting revenue of$7.9 billion in 2007,Northrop Grumman coastsin at No. 3 on this year's Top100 list.Mills began her role ascorporate vice president andpresident of NorthropGrumman IT May 1, succeedingJames O'Neill, whoretired. She said serving abroad array of clients is anadvantage."We are proud to serve a diverse customer setthat spans military, intelligence, civil federalagencies and state/local government," Mills said."This diverse mix enables us to grow asbudget priorities shift," she added. "Tight budgetsare always a two-edged sword: The pressureto do more with less drives demand for ITbecause IT drives productivity. On the otherhand, it can slow new system starts."In a headline-grabbing win, NorthropGrumman and the parent company ofAirbus beat Boeing Co. earlier this year fora $40 billion Air Force tanker contract.In 2007, Northrop Grumman IT hadseveral major wins, including a $267 millionaward for the Army's DefenseKnowledge Online Web portal and a$220 million deal for data storage atNASA. The company was one of 16 contractorschosen to participate in a massiveMedicare and Medicaid governmentwideacquisition contract. However, it has lost afew contracts, notably the FBI's NextGeneration Identification project.The IT unit is also active in the intelligencecommunity, state and local governmentsin the United States, and theUnited Kingdom.Mills said the needfor greater efficiencyand homeland securitypriorities continueto drive the demand forIT solutions, such asinformation sharing andsecurity."Demand for IT acrossthe government continuesto be strong as agencies seek innovative ways tomore effectively perform their mission while atthe same time improving efficiency," Mills said.Northrop Grumman's Information andServices division has grown partly throughstrategic acquisitions, said Bob Kipps, managingdirector at KippsDeSanto and Co., aninvestment banking firm."They have acquired very high-quality businesseswith high-level capabilities and effectivelyintegrated them," he said. "NorthropGrumman is as well-positioned as anyone."Mills said she views IT as playing a criticalrole in government, no matter who wins thepresidential election.The candidates face the same challenges: thewar in Iraq, economic issues in the UnitedStates, the environment, immigration andhealth care, among others, she said. "IT plays acritical role in meeting these challenges irrespectiveof policy," Mills said. "For example, inhealth care, whether we go to a national system,mandated health insurance or some otherapproach, IT will be critical to reducing costsand improving quality of care."