Leonardo DRS announces former U.S. Army top science and technology executive as new Chief Technology Officer

Arlington, VA  07 December 2021 15:00

Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced today that it has named Dr. Philip Perconti as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the corporate research and development strategy, accelerate innovation and expand partnerships that result in integrated technology solutions yielding enhanced warfighting capabilities.

Dr. Perconti has more than 30 years of experience conducting research, managing, and leading Science and Technology programs for the U.S. Army. Most recently he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology/Army Chief Scientist with oversight of the Army-wide Science & Technology program spanning 17 Laboratories and Engineering Centers with nearly 12,000 scientists and engineers.

“We are excited to have Dr. Perconti as our new Chief Technology Officer. He brings a deep understanding of future technological trends that will help Leonardo DRS fill gaps in its portfolio and develop next-generation systems and capabilities for its customers,” said Bill Lynn, chief executive officer of Leonardo DRS.

“As a leading provider of defense products and technologies that are used across land, air, sea, space and cyber domains, our goal is to provide our customer with forward-thinking advanced technologies that will keep our warfighters multiple steps ahead of the threats they face. As somebody very familiar with our technologies, Dr. Perconti is an ideal fit to bring research and advanced products together to help us develop advanced technologies that keep our warfighters safe and effective in the battlespace,” John Baylouny, chief operating officer of Leonardo DRS.

In a previous position, Dr. Perconti served as Director of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Army’s corporate laboratory. He led six technical business units, with over 3000 employees, including the US Army Research Office. Over his 30+ year career, Dr. Perconti led many of the Army’s applied research programs, including 3rd Generation IR and High-Definition uncooled sensors, and the Army’s basic research programs in Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Information Science program, to name a few. 

In the role of CTO, Dr. Perconti comes to a company that continues to invest in technologies and capabilities of critical importance to the U.S. military, from advanced sensing, network computing, force protection, electronic warfare, power and propulsion, and C5. As it investigates the latest research and development around these technologies in partnership with research universities, the company will continue to move toward providing its customers innovative technologies to keep ahead of adversaries for years to come.

“I am excited to join a company that believes in innovation and has worked tirelessly to develop a catalogue of advanced technology to keep our warfighters safe,” Perconti said. “I look forward to working across our business units, with our industry partners, and with universities around the world to build on Leonardo DRS’ advanced technologies, and to develop ground-breaking systems that will lead to better protected, better informed, more mobile, and more lethal warfighters for years to come.”

See the full biography of Dr. Perconti

For additional information, please contact:
Mike Mount
Vice President, Media Relations and EE Communications
+1 571 447 4624
mmount@drs.com