Dunford Is TRW’s President and Chief Operating Officer

Edsel D. Dunford, general manager of TRW Inc.’s space & defense sector in Redondo Beach, has been elected president and chief operating officer of the diversified company.

Dunford will assume the duties of president July 1 from Joseph T. Gormano, who will remain chairman and chief executive of Cleveland-based TRW. Dunford’s successor at the space & defense sector, which develops electronic and computer systems, will be announced in the next few weeks.

After joining the technical staff of TRW in 1964, Dunford has been responsible for such projects as the design of Pioneer 10, the first satellite to travel beyond the solar system.

Dunford named was general manager of the space & defense sector in 1987. He directed the division through a slowdown in defense spending that saw more than 3,000 TRW positions eliminated.