Harris CEO elected to serve as chairmain of the board
Melbourne-based Harris Corp. Friday morning announced that effective immediately William Brown, the company's president and chief executive officer, has been elected by its board of directors to serve in the additional capacity of chairman of the board.
Brown succeeds Thomas Dattilo who has served as non-executive chairman of the board since January 2012. The independent members of the board also designated Dattilo as its lead independent director.
"During his two and a half years with Harris, Bill has demonstrated the strong leadership and vision necessary to drive Harris' strategies and achieve the company's objectives," Dattilo said in a statement. "The Board carefully considered our governance structure and determined that this is the right time for Bill to become our chairman."
"I want to thank Tom for his leadership as chairman," Brown said. "His contributions are greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to work with him as our lead independent director as we continue to improve the company's performance for shareholders, customers and employees."
The board of directors at Harris named Brown president and chief executive officer effective in October 2011. Brown succeeded Howard Lance.
On January 1, 2012, Dattilo, former chairman, president and CEO of Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., and a member of the Harris board of directors since 2001, became the non-executive chairman of the board.
Dattilo was expected to serve in this role for up to two years with the board planning to eventually name Brown to the combined chairman and CEO role.
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