General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) announced today that Charles M. Hall, executive vice president and group executive of the company’s Combat Systems group, will retire on May 1. Hall has been executive vice president since 2005, before which he was president of the company’s General Dynamics Land Systems subsidiary. He will be succeeded by David K. Heebner, executive vice president and group executive of the company’s Marine Systems group. Heebner will continue to report to Jay L. Johnson, president and chief executive officer. The appointments are effective May 1, 2010.
In announcing the changes, Johnson said, “Charlie Hall has been a visionary leader of the Combat Systems group for the past five years, and a dynamic player in the combat-vehicle business for nearly four decades. He has been instrumental in continually pushing to deliver new technologies to the U.S. military, and in creating product offerings for customers of our U.S. and foreign combat-systems businesses alike. Charlie’s professionalism and dedication have made a tremendous difference for General Dynamics. He will be missed.”
The company also announced that John W. Schwartz, who has been a vice president and the company’s controller since 1998, will retire on April 1. He will be succeeded by Jason W. Aiken, who has been staff vice president of accounting since July 2006. The General Dynamics board of directors, at its March 3 meeting, elected Aiken and Ernest J. Babcock, deputy general counsel, to be vice presidents of the corporation.
“John Schwartz, as the company’s chief accounting officer for the past 12 years, has played a substantial role in the transformation of General Dynamics into the global market leader that it is today, ” Johnson said. “His counsel and dedication have been noteworthy and are greatly appreciated.”
