SAIC names Donna Morea as new chair

Science Applications International Corp. is saying a partial good bye to Edward “Sandy” Sanderson Jr. who has served as chair since September 2013 when the old SAIC split into Leidos and the new SAIC.

His replacement is current board member and former American Management System and CGI Group executive Donna Morea.

The changes take effect Jan. 1, and Sanderson will remain as a member of the board.

"It’s been an honor to serve as board chair over the last five years, and I’m confident in our future and in Donna’s leadership as we continue to grow and deliver strong value to our customers, employees and shareholders,” Sanderson said in a company statement.

Morea brings a wealth of experience to the chairmanship. She knows SAIC well, having served on the board since the spilt. She also had a 31-year career at AMS, and then CGI after it acquired AMS in 2004.

She retired in 2011 as the leader of the IT and business process services business in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. At the time, she led 15,000 employees and was responsible for $2.5 billion in annual revenue.

“I am excited to lead SAIC’s board of directors and work closely with SAIC’s senior leadership to further execute our mission-driven long-term strategy, Ingenuity 2025,” she said in the SAIC statement.

Company CEO Tony Moraco thanked Sanderson for his leadership at the company saying he was “instrumental to our success the past five years, particularly as we separated from our parent company and launched the new SAIC.”

Morea’s rise to the chairmanship comes as SAIC enters a new phase with the $2.5 billion acquisition of Engility, which will close in February. Moving from Engility’s board to SAIC’s is David Kerko, a former executive with the private equity firm KKR (a major Engility shareholder) and Katrina McFarland, a retired Army acquisition leader.