L3Harris Technologies announced on August 17 that it had appointed Sam Mehta as its new chief executive officer, after Christopher Kubasik immediately stepped down from his positions as chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and board member. The company said the decision followed an investigation by the board, which concluded that unspecified conduct by Kubasik was inconsistent with the company’s code of conduct.
L3Harris said the matter did not involve financial reporting, internal controls, customer relations, or operational performance. It added that the board conducted the investigation in cooperation with independent legal counsel and then concluded that the separation agreement with Kubasik was in the company’s best interest. Louis Hay, the independent chairman of the board, said that executing the succession plan at this time was the right decision, without providing additional details about the conduct under investigation.
Who is the new CEO?
Mehta takes the new position after leading L3Harris’s space business, a move that places an executive overseeing the company’s military space portfolio at the head of the group. Mehta joined L3Harris in 2023 to lead its communications segment, then was appointed at the beginning of the year as president of Space & Mission Systems, before his responsibilities later expanded to include Communications & Spectrum Dominance. Together, the two segments account for more than 80% of the company’s revenue.
Before joining L3Harris, Mehta led the advanced structures business at RTX’s Collins Aerospace and spent more than 17 years at Sikorsky Aircraft, where his last position was president of defense systems and services. During his time at L3Harris, he oversaw efforts to increase production of military satellites and infrared payloads, as the U.S. Department of Defense expanded the space elements of the Golden Dome missile defense initiative launched by President Trump.
The change comes amid a broad restructuring
Kubasik’s sudden departure comes during a major reorganization of the company, which was formed in 2019 through the merger of Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies. In January, L3Harris moved from four business segments to three: Space & Mission Systems, Communications & Spectrum Dominance, and Missile Solutions.
The Missile Solutions segment includes missile propulsion systems and other weapons technologies, including a large portion of the Aerojet Rocketdyne business that L3Harris acquired for $4.7 billion in 2023. The company had announced plans to spin off the segment through an initial public offering, backed by a $1 billion investment from the U.S. Department of Defense that would convert into shares after the offering. However, Kubasik said last month that the offering would be delayed until at least after mid-2027 because of market conditions, after it had been targeted for the second half of 2026.
What is changing in practice?
L3Harris’s commitment to its announced $3 billion project to expand production of solid rocket motors and strengthen the supply chain remains in place, according to the company’s announcement. It is also continuing to reduce parts of its inherited Aerojet Rocketdyne space portfolio; in January, it agreed to sell a 60% stake in its Space Propulsion and Power Systems business to private equity firm AE Industrial Partners in a deal that valued the business at $845 million. L3Harris retained approximately 40% of the business and full ownership of the RS-25 engine used in NASA’s Artemis program.
Mehta’s appointment led to additional management changes; Lauren Barnes, the former president of the Spectrum Superiority segment, became president of Space & Mission Systems, while Christopher Ebel will lead Communications & Spectrum Dominance after previously serving as president of Mission Critical Communications. These changes give the new management responsibility for continuing the restructuring and implementing the production plans and the delayed public offering at a time when the company is moving toward a phase more focused on space and missile defense businesses.