Former US Army Top Science & Technology Executive
Leonardo DRS announced the appointment of Dr Philip Perconti as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) on 7 December. He will lead the corporate research and development strategy, accelerate innovation and expand partnerships that result in integrated technology solutions.
Dr Perconti has over 30 years’ experience conducting research, managing, and leading science and technology programmes for the US Army, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology/Army Chief Scientist, with oversight of the Army-wide Science & Technology programme, spanning 17 laboratories and engineering centres, with nearly 12,000 scientists and engineers.
“We are excited to have Dr Perconti as our new Chief Technology Officer. He brings a deep understanding of future technological trends that will help Leonardo DRS fill gaps in its portfolio and develop next-generation systems and capabilities for its customers,” stated Bill Lynn, CEO.
“As a leading provider of defense products and technologies that are used across land, air, sea, space and cyber domains, our goal is to provide our customer with forward-thinking advanced technologies that will keep our warfighters multiple steps ahead of the threats they face. As somebody very familiar with our technologies, Dr Perconti is an ideal fit to bring research and advanced products together to help us develop advanced technologies that keep our warfighters safe and effective in the battlespace,” added John Baylouny, the company’s COO.
In a previous position, Dr Perconti served as Director of the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Army’s corporate laboratory. He led six technical business units, with over 3,000 employees, including the US Army Research Office. Over his 30+ year career, he led many of the Army’s applied research programmes, including 3rd-generation IR and High-Definition uncooled sensors, and the Army’s basic research programmes in Artificial Intelligence, and the Quantum Information Science program, to name a few.
In the role of CTO, Dr. Perconti comes to a company that continues to invest in technologies and capabilities of critical importance to the US military, from advanced sensing, network computing, force protection, EW, power and propulsion, and C5. As it investigates the latest research and development around these technologies in partnership with research universities, the company will continue to move toward providing its customers with innovative technologies, to keep ahead of adversaries for years to come.
“I am excited to join a company that believes in innovation and has worked tirelessly to develop a catalogue of advanced technology to keep our warfighters safe […] I look forward to working across our business units, with our industry partners, and with universities around the world to build on Leonardo DRS’ advanced technologies, and to develop ground-breaking systems that will lead to better-protected, better-informed, more mobile, and more lethal warfighters for years to come,” Perconti observed.
