AVONDALE, La., Jan. 3, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Ship Systems announced today that Thomas M. Kitchen will retire later this month as president of the sector's Avondale Operations. Mr. Kitchen, 54, started his career with Avondale in 1977 as assistant controller and was named president in late 1999.
Dr. Philip A. Dur, president of Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector, noted Mr. Kitchen's numerous contributions to the company and his many years of service to Avondale. "Tom's contributions to the transition of the Ship Systems organization have been important in our future success," Dr. Dur said.
Dr. Dur said a successor to Mr. Kitchen will be named soon.
Mr. Kitchen expressed his appreciation to Avondale's employees, giving them credit for their "hard work and ingenuity in creating the complex ships for our commercial and Navy customers."
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, headquartered in Pascagoula, Miss., includes the Ingalls Operations and the Ship Systems Full Service Center, both located in Pascagoula, as well as the Avondale Operations, located in New Orleans and Tallulah, La., and Gulfport, Miss. Ship Systems, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals primarily in Mississippi and Louisiana, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types. The Ship Systems sector has a firm business backlog exceeding $5.5 billion in a variety of naval and commercial shipbuilding programs.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an $18 billion, global defense company with its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration, information technology and nuclear and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems. With nearly 100,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
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