The CEO of one of the most recognized and innovative companies in the world will speak on April 1 at West Virginia University. Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman Corporation, will speak as part of the B&E Distinguished Speaker Series, hosted by the College of Business and Economics.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in areas such as unmanned systems, cyber, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide.

“Wes Bush has demonstrated strong leadership for a highly respected, global company,” said Jose “Zito” Sartarelli, B&E Milan Puskar Dean. “We are honored not only to have him as an inductee in our West Virginia Business Hall of Fame, but also as a notable speaker for our university and business communities.”

In his time with Northrop Grumman, Bush, a 2013 inductee into B&E’s West Virginia Business Hall of Fame, has worn many hats. He was elected to the company’s board of directors in 2009, and was named CEO and president in January 2010. He assumed the role of chairman in July 2011. Previously, he served as the president and chief operating officer of the company, and before that he worked as corporate vice president and chief financial officer.

Bush joined Northrop Grumman as the result of a merger between the company and TRW, a corporation he joined in in 1987. He initially began his career at TRW as a systems engineer, and served in engineering, program management and business development roles in their Space and Electronics business. He held the roles of president and CEO for TRW’s UK-based global Aeronautical Systems sector before TRW was acquired by Northrop Grumman.

Bush earned a bachelor’s degree as well as a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and completed the executive management program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He currently serves on the board of directors of Norfolk Southern Corporation, as well as the boards of several nonprofit organizations including the Business-Higher Education Forum, Conservation International and the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation. He is a former chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association’s board of governors.

The 4 p.m. event is free and open to the public. Shuttle services are offered from B&E to the Erickson Alumni Center.

This is the third of four scheduled events in the B&E Distinguished Speaker Series during the spring 2015 semester. For further information, please visit be.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

mm/03/19/15

CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU College of Business and Economics
304.293.5131; patrick.gregg@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday and the WVU College of Business and Economics at @wvucobe on Twitter.