SAIC CEO Moraco to retire; COO Keene named successor
By
Nick Wakeman
SAIC CEO Tony Moraco will retire effective July 31 and the board has named COO Nazzic Keene as the next chief executive.
In the category of one I didn’t see that one coming, Science Applications International Corp. CEO Tony Moraco announced Thursday that he’ll retire on July 31. The board of directors has named Chief Operating Officer Nazzic Keene as his successor.
Moraco has led the company since it spun out of its former parent Leidos (formerly Science Applications International Corp.) in 2013.
At the time, "New SAIC" had just over $4 billion in annual revenue. Five-and-a-half years later, the company stands at $6.5 billion, thanks to some organic growth and this year's acquisition of Engility that added $1.9 billion in new revenue and substantially increased SAIC’s intelligence business.
Keene joined the company in 2012, just prior to when the old SAIC changed its name to Leidos and spun out New SAIC. She was senior vice president of "Old SAIC's" corporate strategy and planning, and also played a key role in the spin-off of SAIC.
At the new company, she was president of enterprise IT. She was named chief operating officer in 2017.
“I am extremely proud of how SAIC has evolved as a leading technology integrator with strong financial performance, led by an excellent leadership team, and I’m very confident that SAIC will deliver sustained profitable growth into the future,” Moraco said in a company statement.
“I am also excited that Nazzic will become our company’s next CEO. She has an exceptional track-record leading the company’s operations, building great teams, and growing business, most recently as the lead architect of the highly-successful Engility merger and integration.”
SAIC Chairman Donna Morea also praised Moraco’s leadership and said he groomed Keene to take his place.
“Because of the importance the board of directors places on succession planning and seamless leadership transitions, we are appreciative that Tony chose and groomed a highly-respected, highly-qualified successor,” Morea said. “The board looks forward to working with Nazzic to build on Tony’s legacy of success and take the company to still greater heights.”