Northrop corporate Vice President Les Daly, the...

Northrop corporate Vice President Les Daly, the firm’s chief public affairs officer, will leave his post at the end of the year, the company said.

Daly, 58, has worked at the Los Angeles-based aerospace firm for 33 years. In a brief telephone interview, he said he would discuss his plans at a later time and indicated that he was retiring from Northrop because he had put in lengthy service to the company.

During his career, Daly became a close confidant of former Northrop Chairman Thomas Jones and helped guide Jones through a number of public relations crises.

Northrop Chairman Kent Kresa lauded Daly’s contributions to the firm’s annual reports and advertising. Daly’s duties as chief public affairs officer will be taken by corporate Executive Vice President James G. Roche, an unusual assignment for an executive whose normal duties are advanced development and planning.