Katherine J. Warden was selected as the CEO of Northrop Grumman in 2019. The company is the product of a merger between the Northrop and Grumman corporations almost 30 years ago, when both long-established companies joined forces to create today’s aerospace and defense tech giant. Northrop Grumman employs 90,000 people worldwide and generates an annual revenue to the tune of $30 billion.
The company has won the Collier Trophy eight times for its achievements and innovation in aeronautics. Since Warden took the lead, the company won a $298 million contract as part of the Evolved Strategic Satcom program, which is being developed to replace the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite program with anti-jam communications satellites. Warden also oversaw the sale of Northrop Grumman’s federal IT mission support business to Veritas Capital for $3.4 billion.
Beginning in March of 2021, Northrop Grumman became involved in the Mars sample-return mission, being contracted to construct a solid fuel ascent rocket for the Mars Ascent Propulsion System. Warden has led the company through impressive accomplishments in a short period of time–her comfort in her role as CEO can be attributed to her long career within the company. She joined the company in 2008 as Vice President of Cybersecurity, and she has worked in top leadership roles ever since.
Her appointment as CEO also came with an election to Northrop Grumman’s Board of Directors. She also served on the Clinton Administration’s Internet Advisory Council, the board of the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and she now resides on the Board of Visitors for her alma mater, James Madison University.
Warden has held spots on Fortune and CEOWORLD lists of “most powerful women.” Recently, she has also spoken out about the need for the government to get more involved in backing advanced computing initiatives. “If there were an area I would point to where that capability has shrunk to an alarming state, that would be the one that I would highlight,” she said, referring to advanced computing. “It’s not an area that the U.S. has been investing significantly in previous years.”