Lockheed Martin UK has announced that Stephen R. Ball will replace Chief Executive Ian Stopps who is retiring, as planned, from the company.

Effective immediately, Ball will hold the position of Deputy Chief Executive until he takes over as Chief Executive, with full responsibility for the running of LMUK, on March 1, 2009. To aid the transition process, Ian Stopps will work with Ball until his retirement.

Stopps, who has been with the organisation for 35 years, was appointed Chief Executive in 1999 when the company combined all of its UK interests under one single entity. Under his leadership, Lockheed Martin UK has expanded its organisation in the UK and is now responsible for a number of national security and state-critical programmes. The company is part of the consortium that manages the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston; it is responsible for delivering the Trident Strategic Missile and the 5th generation Joint Strike Fighter and plays an important role in programmes of strategic national interest to the UK.

Lockheed Martin UK's other projects include the Merlin Multi-Mission Helicopter, the Military Flying Training System and the C-130J airlifter. Additionally, the company provides postal recognition technologies to Royal Mail as well as software and support to National Air Traffic Services.

Until recently, Stephen Ball has held the position of Managing Director of Lockheed Martin UK INSYS, based in Ampthill, where he was responsible for the day-to-day general management and executive leadership of the enterprise. Under Ball's direction, the organisation has gone through a period of transformation and, in 2008, the company was awarded the coveted Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) contract.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Ball spent 21 years with the HM Government Communications Centre (HMGCC) and played a major role of the establishment of the organisation as a government agency, eventually leading it as its CEO before leaving to take a post in industry.

Ian Stopps said "I am very confident handing over the reins of the organisation to Stephen Ball. I have worked closely with Stephen over the last few years and have been very impressed by the job he has done leading our LMUK INSYS business. Stephen brings to the position a unique set of skills and domain experience that will be very important as the enterprise continues to grow and expand its portfolio in the UK.

Commenting on his appointment Stephen Ball said "I am excited about this opportunity. Ian has created an organisation that has solid business base, a great brand and an exciting cache of programmes and future opportunities. We have incredibly talented employees and a great leadership team. I am now looking forward to building on that solid foundation and taking the organisation into the next stage of its evolution".

Lockheed Martin UK, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a leader in systems integration working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors. The organisation works with more than 100 business partners and employs over 1700 people at sites across the UK.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion