Honored with Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award

Louise L. Francesconi, a Raytheon Company vice president and president of the company's Missile Systems business, has been honored with the Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award.

Presented this week at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, Francesconi received the award for "noteworthy contributions to aerospace during a career spanning at least 20 years." NASA Administrator Michael Griffin presented Francesconi's award.

Women in Aerospace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in aerospace and related careers, and to recognizing the achievements of outstanding women in aerospace.

The highest ranking woman in the defense industry, Francesconi leads the $3.8 billion, 11,000-employee organization that is the world's largest missile systems business. Her career spans more than 30 years in the defense and aerospace industry, and her expertise in strategic planning, technology investment, customer focus and operational excellence has been instrumental in making Raytheon Missile Systems the world's preeminent producer of weapon systems for the United States military and the allied forces of more than 40 countries.

Among these systems are the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, the Paveway Laser Guided Bomb, the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, the Javelin anti- tank missile and the Standard Missile-3 sea-based missile defense system.

Francesconi also is leading the effort to create the leap-ahead generation of directed energy systems using the company's expertise in high energy lasers and high powered microwaves. Current applications include nonlethal warfare and airport protection. Missile Systems also is applying its missile technologies and engineering capability to space exploration, and its airframe and guidance technology to the development of unmanned systems for defense and commercial applications.

Francesconi, 52, has spent her 30-year career with Raytheon Company and was with Hughes Aircraft Company before the merger of the two firms in late 1997.

She began her career in the company's financial operations and rose to chief financial officer of Hughes Missile Systems Company in 1993. She has led the missile business since 1996.

A native of California, Francesconi is a graduate of Scripps College and has a master's degree in business administration from the University of California at Los Angeles.

FMI: www.raytheon.com