– USA, MA – Mercury Systems, Inc., (NASDAQ: MRCY), a leader in trusted, secure mission-critical technologies for aerospace and defense, today announced the appointments of Howard Lance and Bill Ballhaus to its Board as independent directors, effective immediately, in conjunction with cooperation agreements that the Company has reached with JANA Partners LLC and Starboard Value LP.
“We are pleased to welcome Howard and Bill, two outstanding leaders with strong track records of overseeing growth and profitability, as well as valuable aerospace and defense and technology industry expertise, to our Board. Their appointments further the Board’s ongoing commitment to adding new directors with fresh insights and perspectives, diverse backgrounds and relevant expertise,” said Board Chair, Bill O’Brien.
About Howard L. Lance
Howard Lance is currently Managing Partner at Lance Advisors LLC, an advisory firm serving private equity and institutional investors. He serves as non-executive Chairman of Summit Materials, a leading provider of aggregates and cement, and as non-executive Chairman of Change Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare information technology and services. He also serves as a Director of New Vista Acquisition Corporation, a SPAC focused on emerging technologies in aerospace, defense, and logistics, and as non-executive Chairman of privately-held Covanta Energy LLC, a leading provider of sustainable environmental solutions.
He previously served on the public-company boards of Ferrovial S.A., Eastman Chemical Company, Stryker Corporation, and Aviat Networks.
Mr. Lance was President and CEO of Maxar Technologies, a leading provider of space technology solutions including satellites, robotics, geospatial imagery, and services from 2016 to 2019. Previously, he was Executive Advisor – Private Equity at the Blackstone Group from 2012 to 2016. He served as Chairman, President, and CEO of Harris Corporation, a leading global provider of communications and information technology products, software, systems, and services to government, defense, and commercial markets, from 2003 to 2012. He was Co-President of NCR Corporation and COO of its Retail and Financial Group from 2001 to 2002. Previously, he spent 17 years at Emerson Electric Company including as EVP of its Electronics and Telecom businesses, Group President of its Climate Technologies businesses, and CEO of Astec PLC, a UK-listed subsidiary based in Hong Kong.
Mr. Lance holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University and a Master’s degree in Management from Purdue University.
About Bill Ballhaus
Bill Ballhaus currently serves as Chairman of MilestoneRoad Partners, a business consulting firm he founded in 2021, and as Executive Chairman at Government Brands LLC, a provider of software and payments solutions for government customers. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Blackboard, a leading EdTech company, from 2016 until its merger with Anthology in 2021. Before that, he served as CEO and President of SRA International, Inc., a provider of information technology services from 2011 until the creation of CSRA from SRA and CSC’s U.S. public sector business. Before that, Mr. Ballhaus served as CEO and President of private military contractor DynCorp International from 2008 to 2010. Mr. Ballhaus has also held senior leadership positions at BAE Systems, Boeing, and Hughes where he led global government and commercial technology businesses particularly focused on software and IT.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Qmulos, leading cybersecurity, and IT compliance company, and as a senior advisor at PSG, a private equity firm focused on the software industry. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Mr. Ballhaus holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, and Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. He also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
About Mercury Systems
Mercury Systems is a global commercial technology company serving the aerospace and defense industry. Headquartered in Andover, Mass., the company delivers trusted, secure open-architecture processing solutions powering a broad range of mission-critical applications in the most challenging and demanding environments. Inspired by its purpose of delivering Innovation that Matters, By and For People Who Matter, Mercury helps make the world a safer, more secure place for all.
For more information: https://www.mrcy.com/
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