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.