BAE Systems Poised to Name Charles Woodburn Operating Chief

By Robert Wall 

LONDON--BAE Systems PLC is poised to name oil industry executive Charles Woodburn as chief operating officer, putting him in line to eventually replace chief executive Ian King, a person familiar with the matter said.

BAE Systems, the U.K.'s biggest arms maker and a major Pentagon supplier, has been exploring succession options for some time.

Mr. Woodburn, who lacks defense industry experience, would work with Mr. King for a year or more before the handoff takes place, said the person who asked not to be named ahead of a formal company announcement.

Mr. Woodburn has been chief executive for Expro Group International PLC since 2010 and previously worked at oil services group Schlumberger Ltd.

The pending appointment is expected to be formally made before BAE reports full-year results on Thursday. Expro couldn't immediately be reached for comment about the departure of its chief executive.

BAE Systems chairman Roger Carr has ties to the energy sector. He was chairman of U.K. utility Centrica.

If Mr. Woodburn becomes BAE's chief executive it would be the second time a major British aerospace and defense company has gone outside to tap a new boss. Warren East last year was named to lead aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC. Mr. East once ran semiconductor company ARM Holdings PLC.

Mr. King, a longtime BAE employee, has run the company that makes British warships and combat planes since 2008. He has overseen a period of drastic cuts in military spending, and cut jobs in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

Mr. King also tried to forge a merger with Airbus Group SE, then still called EADS. The deal failed amid German government opposition.

Last year BAE announced a reduction in the pace of production of Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets. The move was aimed at avoiding a break in production toward the end of this decade because of a lack of export deals. A long-sought follow-on purchase of Typhoon jets from Saudi Arabia that would secure the production line's future so far has failed to materialize.

BAE Systems at times has flirted with the idea of naming an American as chief executive because the Pentagon is its single-largest customer. The British government has opposed such a move.

Write to Robert Wall at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2016 11:38 ET (16:38 GMT)

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