TRW Exec Named Litton President
Litton Industries Inc. on Thursday tapped longtime TRW executive Ronald D. Sugar to succeed Michael R. Brown as the company’s chief executive.
Sugar, 51, was named president and chief operating officer and will succeed Brown, 59, by Dec. 31, 2001. He most recently served as president and chief operating officer of TRW’s Aerospace & Information Systems unit.
At Litton, Sugar joins a company with a hand in a broad range of businesses--ranging from advanced electronics to information technology and commercial and military shipbuilding--and a stock price that is well off a high set last year.
The stock hit an all-time high of $72 in July before sliding to $27.94 in March, following the announcement of a 16% drop in quarterly profit. On Thursday, Litton stock fell $1.44, or 3%, to close at $43.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Despite the market gyrations, at least one analyst believes that Sugar is a good fit for Litton but has a steep learning curve in one key area.
“He’s had a good reputation, and it sounds like a positive move for Litton,” said Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research Inc. in Newport, R.I. “If there’s a new area for him, it’s shipbuilding. He’s going to have to get up to speed with it.”
Sugar told The Times that he believes Litton is undervalued. “There’s a significant upside opportunity,” Sugar said. “From what I can see, the drop down [in the stock] was a strange market anomaly.”
“Certainly the ship business is a significant part of Litton that we see growing,” he said. “Electronic components also is a hidden jewel.”
Litton grew from a small microwave-tube company to a multinational power worth $5.5 billion with a work force of 44,000, including 6,000 at its Woodland Hills headquarters. It is the nation’s third-largest shipbuilder, having acquired Avondale Industries last year.
At Cleveland-based TRW, Sugar served in various executive roles, including chief financial officer. He was seen as a candidate for TRW’s CEO position, but David Cote, a former General Electric Co. executive, was named CEO last year.
