Bill Ballhaus Named Mercury Systems President and CEO

GovCon industry veteran Bill Ballhaus has assumed the position of president and CEO of Mercury Systems (Nasdaq: MRCY).

He took on the roles on an interim basis on June 24 at the Andover, Massachusetts-based technology company, Mercury said Tuesday.

“After conducting a review of potential candidates with the assistance of an executive search firm, and given Bill’s previous successes in leading operational transformations and achieving strong results, the Board is confident that he has the right skills and experience to accelerate the execution of Mercury’s strategic plan and solidify the Company’s position in the rapidly modernizing aerospace and defense industry,” said William O’Brien, chairman of the board at Mercury.

Ballhaus joined Mercury’s board in 2022 and will transition to the role of board chairman prior to the annual shareholders’ meeting.

“Working closely with our leadership team, we are moving aggressively to enhance execution to drive predictability of performance, rearchitect our organic growth engine, improve profitability, and drive greater cash generation,” Ballhaus said.

He served as chief executive at Blackboard, SRA International and DynCorp International and held senior leadership roles at BAE Systems, Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Hughes.

Ballhaus sits on the boards of several tech companies, including Catalis, Elite and Qmulos, and is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Mercury Systems also announced the appointment of Barry Nearhos, former managing partner at PwC, as lead independent director.