Northrop Grumman Appoints Ben Palmer, Jon Anderson and Simon Cooper to Key Business Development Roles for the UK and Europe Region

LONDON, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has announced the following London-based appointments aimed at strengthening its U.K. and Europe business development organisation.

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Ben Palmer has been appointed director, European Strategy and Business Development. In this new position, he will lead and coordinate all business development activities in the U.K. and Europe including the development and delivery of an integrated strategy for the region.

Jon Anderson has been appointed director, Business Development for C4ISR - Land, Maritime and Civil and Simon Cooper is to be appointed director Business Development, C4ISR - Air effective June 30. They join Ian Milne, business development director for Unmanned Systems and Logistics.

"Ben brings to Northrop Grumman a significant array of skills and experience gained in the MoD and industry, and together with the combined experience of Jon, Simon and Ian we have created a business development team which is second to none," said Andrew Tyler, chief executive for U.K. and Europe, Northrop Grumman. "These appointments are critically important for our future success in the U.K. and Europe region as we expand our presence, enhance our customer engagement and bring a wider portfolio of capabilities to the market."

Palmer has more than 20 years' experience in the defence and aerospace sector, having worked in government, industry and consulting as a senior official, executive and adviser. He joins Northrop Grumman after two years at the strategic advisory firm AlixPartners. Prior to that, he spent nearly five years at BAE Systems serving in a series of senior strategy and business development roles, culminating in membership of the management board of the naval ships and submarines business. His earlier career was at the MoD where he spent 12 years in a succession of policy, planning and crisis management roles.

He was appointed OBE in 2002 in recognition of his post-9/11 contribution to the campaign against international terrorism and has a degree in politics, philosophy and economics from the University of Oxford. He later gained a master's in management during a year's sabbatical as a Sloan Fellow at the London Business School.

Anderson has more than 20 years' experience in the defence and security industry leading complex domestic and international business campaigns. He joins Northrop Grumman from General Dynamics U.K. where he was business development director for avionics, electro-optical, deployable infrastructure and communications systems. Prior to that, he held various managerial and technical positions within Thales and GEC Marconi in the anti-submarine warfare sector.

Cooper will join Northrop Grumman from Selex ES where he is currently head of strategic electronic warfare campaigns at the company's Airborne and Space Systems Division. In this role, he has responsibility for the strategic direction and tactical execution of electronic warfare sales objectives in the U.S., India and other key markets. Prior to that, he held various business development roles at Selex ES and before that at BAE Systems.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.