Graham Warwick
Obviously elated at being plucked from his job as vice-chairman of AlliedSignal to become the president, chief operating officer and chief executive designate of Raytheon, Dan Burnham says the depth and breadth of its his new company is "awesome".
In the job for just a couple of months, Burnham is not ready to reveal his plans for Raytheon, except to say that he expects the company to "grow aggressively".
Burham is known for his zealous integration and rationalisation of the disparate businesses which came together to form AlliedSignal, and he is tipped to perform the same feat at Raytheon, which has transformed itself into a $21 billion electronics giant by the acquisition, in rapid succession, of E-Systems, Texas Instruments' defence business and Hughes.
"We are seeing the birth of Raytheon here at Farnborough," Burnham believes. "This is the first coming together of all the companies."
The boldness of Raytheon's recent acquisitions is not widely appreciated by the industry, he says, adding with a smile: "They don't yet know our full capabilities."
Burnham believes the defence business will grow, "-because the world is disturbed", and defence electronics will grow faster "-because it is the best way to get value for money."
He expects Raytheon's aircraft integration and modification business to fare particularly well.
Burnham, who was head-hunted by Raytheon to succeed current chief executive Dennis Picard, says the night before he had to tell AlliedSignal chairman Larry Bossidy that he was leaving "-was the second longest in my life".
The first was when he asked his future father-in-law for his daughter's hand in marriage. He said yes - and Bossidy? "He told me I was doing the right thing."
Source: Flight Daily News