BAE Systems completes acquisition of Ball Aerospace

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE COMPANIES

Ball Aerospace has become BAE Systems’ Space & Mission Systems business. The acquisition from Ball Corp. brings space, science, and defense capabilities, adding more than 5,200 U.S. employees.

Ball Aerospace brings customers in the intelligence community, U.S. Department of Defense, and civilian space market.

Its history dates to 1956 when Edmund F. Ball, son of one of the founders of Ball Corp., partnered with physicists from the University of Colorado to create the aerospace segment later known as Ball Aerospace. The company began building pointing controls for military rockets and later won a contract to build NASA’s first spacecraft, the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO-1) satellite. The company also built visual imaging cameras launched aboard NASA’s Voyager I, delivered corrective optics to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, built the Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft, and developed the advanced optical technology and lightweight mirror system of the James Webb Space Telescope.

In August 2023, BAE Systems proposed acquiring Ball Aerospace for approximately $5.55 billion and received regulatory approvals to complete the acquisition in February 2024. https://www.baesystems.com

Appointments

Cloud software company iBase-t appointed Chris Morris vice president of professional services. He has more than 30 years’ experience in professional services, customer success, and enterprise software sales. Before transitioning to enterprise software, Morris began his career as a design engineer and project engineer at Pratt & Whitney. https://ibaset.com

The L.S. Starrett Co., manufacturer of precision metrology systems, appointed Roger N. Amrol Jr. as president and chief executive officer (CEO), Barry D. Laughlin as chief operating officer (COO), Allen E. Look as global chief information officer (CIO), and Jon-Michael Raymond as chief revenue officer (CRO).

Amrol joins the organization from Robert Bosch Tool Corp. North America where he was president and CEO and succeeds Douglas A. Starrett whose career with Starrett spanned 48 years as president and CEO.

Laughlin was most recently COO with Group DEKKO. Previously he was with Navistar for 26 years; his last position was director of global manufacturing and custom products.

Look brings more than 25 years of information technology experience with skills in data analysis and cybersecurity.

Raymond brings more than 17 years’ experience in industrial markets where he’s held sales and finance roles and was previously Starrett’s North American sales and marketing director for industrial products. https://www.starrett.com

OnRobot, a provider of robotic systems programming software, appointed Tom Herndon as sales manager for the Americas and Canada. He brings 25 years of experience in manufacturing and automation. https://onrobot.com

Enterprise cloud and industrial artificial intelligence (AI) software provider IFS appointed Matt Breslin as president, North America, to take over the position from David Spencer as he retires. Breslin joins IFS from Upland Software where he held the position of chief revenue officer (CRO) and led functions including sales, marketing, strategic alliances, and customer success. https://www.ifs.com