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The defence prime has restructured its executive leadership team following the departure of RAAF veteran Chris Deeble.
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Northrop Grumman Australia (NGA) has expanded the responsibilities of Chris Keane, who has assumed the role of director, strategy and future business.
Keane will now report to Christine Zeitz, vice president and general manager, Asia-Pacific, as part of a revamp of Northrop Grumman Australia’s executive leadership structure.
Keane has been tasked with spearheading business development, capture management, strategy, technical outreach, government relations, communications and the corporate global business office (CGBO) accountabilities for Australia.
The restructure comes off the back of the departure of RAAF veteran Chris Deeble, who assumed the position of Deputy Secretary of the Department of Defence in July after serving for three years as NGA’s chief executive.
Zeitz welcomed Keane’s appointment to the expanded role, adding the new executive leadership team would continue to drive NGA’s growth strategy.
“Northrop Grumman Australia has been on an ambitious growth journey to invest in sovereign Australian industry capability and keep pace with our customers operating in an increasingly complex and demanding geostrategic environment,” Zeitz said.
“Chris has the runs on the board to build on this growth and we welcome his leadership and expertise to achieve our aspirations.”
Keane first joined Northrop Grumman Australia in in December 2021 as the inaugural director, future business.
Prior to joining NGA, Keane served for almost 16 years with BAE Systems Australia, holding a number of senior leadership roles, including chief of future business, director of strategy and business development, and head of government relations.
The leadership restructure comes just weeks after the company’s global business unveiled the first of up to seven MQ-4C Triton aircraft to be delivered to the RAAF as part of the AIR 7000 Phase 1B program.
The RAAF’s future high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) platform was showcased on Thursday (15 September) during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman’s production site in California, attended by senior Australian and US government and defence officials.
The Tritons are tipped to deliver over 24-hour endurance, collecting essential ISR data over land and sea to enable rapid, informed decision making.
The HALE systems have also been designed to support future connectivity with the joint force, leveraging advanced autonomy and artificial intelligence/machine learning.
[Related: First RAAF MQ-4C Triton unveiled ]
