Linda Hudson

Linda Parker Hudson (born August 22, 1950) is an American businesswoman, keynote speaker, Chairman & CEO of The Cardea Group and former President^[1][2] and CEO of BAE Systems Inc.^[3] and Chief Operating Officer, BAE Systems plc.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Bank of America and Southern Company and has been nominated to serve on the Ingersoll Rand board beginning June, 2015.

Early life

A graduate of the University of Florida, Hudson received her bachelor's degree with honors in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 1972. She remains active in the alumni and athletic associations and serves on advisory boards for the College of Engineering. Recently honored as a Distinguished Alumnus, she is a member of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Hall of Fame. In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate degree in Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and in 2014 she received an honorary doctorate in science degree from the University of Florida.^[4]

Career

Hudson was the president & CEO of BAE Systems, Inc. She led approximately 43,000 employees in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Israel and South Africa. BAE Systems, Inc. had 2011 revenues of $14.4 billion and is a US-based, wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, headquartered in London.

Concurrently, Hudson was an executive director of the BAE Systems plc Board and a member of the Executive Committee. She is also an executive director on the BAE Systems, Inc. Board.

Previously, Hudson was president of BAE Systems' Land & Armaments operating group, a role she began in January 2007. Land & Armaments is the world's largest military vehicle and equipment business, with operations around the world.

Prior to joining BAE Systems, she served for seven years as an officer and vice president of the General Dynamics Corporation, and was president of General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hudson has held a variety of senior management positions in engineering, production operations, program management and business development during a period of significant consolidation in the defense industry. Beginning her career with Harris Corporation and Ford Aerospace, she then led organizations at Martin Marietta through the Lockheed Martin merger and a subsequent divestiture to General Dynamics.

Selected by the USO to receive its 2011 Woman of the Year Distinguished Service Award, Hudson has received numerous accolades and recognitions for her professional accomplishments and her philanthropic activities. She has been featured in numerous print articles in periodicals like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Forbes.

She currently serves on the Bank of America and Southern Company Corporation Board of Directors, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Board of Directors, Executive Committee of the Aerospace Industries Association and the University of Florida Foundation Board. She is a member of the International Women's Forum and C200, the global organization of women business leaders. Hudson received C200’s 2010 Luminary Award for Corporate Innovation. For the past three years, Hudson was named one of Fortune Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and, in 2010, was named as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C., by Washingtonian Magazine.

References