Posted: Tue, Mar 2, 2004, 10:59 AM ET (1559 GMT)
Lockheed Martin announced late Monday that Vance Coffman, who had been the CEO of the company for seven years, will retire this summer, with the current president and COO tapped to succeed him. Coffman, who joined Lockheed in 1967 as a guidance and control systems analyst, had been CEO of the company since August 1997 and chairman since April 1998. Coffman will step down as CEO in early August, but will remain chairman of the board until April 2005. Coffman had been expected to remain as CEO for at least the next 18 months, but decided after spending time with his family over the holidays to step down, the Washington Post reported Tuesday; Coffman was persuaded to remain as CEO until this summer to create a transition period for his successor. Coffman will be succeeded by Robert Stevens, the current president and chief operating officer of the company; he will retain the title of president after becoming CEO.
