Orlando, FL, 01-DEC-03 -- Lockheed Martin has named James Keeler to lead business development efforts for its Simulation, Training & Support company.

As Business Development vice president, Keeler will be responsible for creating and executing plans to identify and win new business in military and commercial markets. He has more than 17 years of experience with Lockheed Martin, serving most recently as the company's director of flight training. In that position, he was responsible for aircrew training systems including those for Special Operations Forces, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, C-130 Hercules, B-1 bomber, and F-16 fighter -- in addition to Commercial Pilot Training Center systems.

"Jim's knowledge, experience and leadership are vital to helping us anticipate and support new and emerging markets and develop effective solutions for our customers," said Daniel J. Crowley, Simulation, Training & Support president. "His strong track record in program management, new business capture and customer satisfaction makes him ideal for this job."

Earlier this month, Simulation, Training & Support reorganized to better position itself for growth and provide the highest quality support to its customers. Keeler will take the lead in restructuring the company's new business initiatives.

"We want to ensure that our customers understand that this company provides a full spectrum of mission readiness solutions, not simply training and logistics," said Keeler. "When we commit to support warfighters, we take a whole systems approach to developing solutions that will help them meet critical requirements, today and in the future. Our new organizational structure aligns us to consistently meet customer expectations and positions us to forge stronger working partnerships with the user."

Before joining Lockheed Martin, Keeler was an officer in the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1982 to 1986 as a project manager on the Peacekeeper Missile System. He has a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida in Gainesville.