Mercury's board finalizes CFO hire, adds former Leidos CEO
Roger Krone lines up his next professional role as a Mercury board member in the wake of his retirement from Leidos. Courtesy of Leidos
By
Ross Wilkers
The defense electronics supplier previously hinted these appointments were in the works and is now ready to share more.
Mercury Systems has moved ahead on its next steps within a week of the board of directors' decision to end the formal process to find an acquirer and continue with the current strategy.
The defense electronics supplier said Thursday that its board had finalized the appointment of a new chief financial officer in David Farnsworth. He will join Mercury on July 17, after three years as CFO at the space and data analytics company Hawkeye 360.
Mercury's board also elected the former Leidos chief executive Roger Krone as a new member with his term having taken effect on Thursday.
Krone led Leidos for nine years until his retirement in May and becomes the second former government contracting CEO to join the Mercury board in a week that also saw the election of Jerry DeMuro, who held that role at BAE Systems' U.S. subsidiary from 2014 to 2020.
The appointments of Farnsworth and Krone were previewed by Mercury as in-the-works when the company announced its review of strategic alternatives ended.
Mercury is being led by interim CEO Bill Ballhaus, a member of the board who was appointed to that temporary position in the wake of Mark Aslett's departure from the company after 15 years as CEO.