Kathy J. Warden is an American business executive who has been chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Northrop Grumman since 2019.

Kathy Warden
Warden in 2024
Born1970 or 1971 (age 53–54)[1]
Alma materJames Madison University (BA)
George Washington University (MBA)
TitlePresident and CEO of Northrop Grumman

Education

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Warden graduated from Smithsburg High School.[2] She then earned a bachelor's degree at James Madison University in 1992,[3] and a master's degree in business administration at George Washington University in 1999.[4][5]

Career

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Warden is a cybersecurity and information technology expert.[6] Early in her career, she worked for General Electric for nearly a decade, and held executive roles at Veridian Corporation and General Dynamics.[4][7][8] Warden was also a principal in a venture capital firm, where she helped companies improve their business models and electronic publishing services.[9]

Warden joined Northrop Grumman in 2008, initially as vice president and general manager of the company's cybersecurity business.[10] In 2015, while president of Northrop Grumman Information Systems,[11] she was included in Federal Computer Week's "Federal 100" list; the magazine credited her for increasing Northrop Grumman's participation in the CyberPatriot program and creation of the Advanced Cyber Technology Center, and for overseeing $1.5 billion in contracts for the 2014 fiscal year.[12] Warden began her tenure as president of the Mission Systems sector in January 2016, when the company merged its Information Systems and Electronics Systems sectors.[6][13][14] She was president and COO of Northrop Grumman since September 2017,[14] and her tenure as CEO started on January 1, 2019.[6]

Warden has been credited with leading the integration of Orbital ATK, later Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.[6][15] She was elected to Northrop Grumman's board of directors since her appointment to the CEO role in mid-2018.[4][13]

Board membership and recognition

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Warden was on the Clinton administration's Internet Advisory Council.[4][9] She has a position on the board of the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.[9][16] She is on the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond board, as of mid-2018.[4] She also works with the Aspen Institute's computer security strategy group.[3]

She joined James Madison University's board of visitors in October 2018.[3] Previously, Warden was on the board of the university's College of Business, starting in 2016.[3] She received a Business Achievement Award from James Madison University's Beta Gamma Sigma chapter in 2018.[17]

Warden was included in Washingtonian's 2017 list of the "most powerful women" in Washington, D.C.,[18] as well as the magazine's 2018 list of "Washington's Top Tech Leaders".[19] She has ranked number 22 and number 80 on Fortune's and CEOWORLD magazine's lists of "most powerful women", respectively.[6][20][21] In 2023, she ranked 38th in Forbes list of "World's 100 most powerful women".[22] Warden was ranked 20th on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in 2023.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Clough, Rick (July 12, 2018). "Northrop to Hand Reins to Operating Chief as CEO Plans Departure". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "From Smithsburg to CEO of Northrop Grumman".
  3. ^ a b c d Sasser, Matthew (October 18, 2018). "Future CEO of Fortune 500 company on board of visitors". The Breeze. James Madison University. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e De Lea, Brittany (July 13, 2018). "Northrop Grumman new CEO: What to know about Kathy Warden". Fox Business Network. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  5. ^ "GWSB Graduate Named Northrop Grumman CEO". George Washington University. July 18, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e "#22: Kathy Warden". Fortune. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  7. ^ Davenport, Christian; Gregg, Aaron (July 12, 2018). "Northrop Grumman CEO will step down". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "Northrop's CEO to Depart Next Year as Defense Giant Elevates COO". IndustryWeek. July 13, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Hutzell, Rick (January 3, 2016). "People to watch: Kathy Warden, head of local Northrop Grumman unit". The Capital. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  10. ^ Mehta, Aaron (12 July 2018). "Northrop to change CEO". Defense News. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  11. ^ "Northrop Grumman reorganization means changes in Maryland". The Capital. November 18, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Federal 100: Kathy Warden". Federal Computer Week. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Bach, Natasha (July 13, 2018). "The Fortune 500 Is Set to Get Another Female CEO". Fortune. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Wilkers, Ross (July 12, 2018). "Northrop CEO Wes Bush to retire, Kathy Warden named successor". Washington Technology. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  15. ^ Neibauer, Michael (June 7, 2018). "Orbital ATK is now part of Northrop Grumman". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "Wolf Trap Foundation Board Members". Wolf Trap Foundation. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  17. ^ Briggs, Stephen (April 23, 2018). "CoB Alumna Receives Beta Gamma Sigma Business Achievement Award". James Madison University. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  18. ^ Milk, Leslie (October 2, 2017). "The Most Powerful Women in Washington". Washingtonian. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  19. ^ Guinto, Joseph (September 20, 2018). "Tech Titans 2018: Washington's Top Tech Leaders". Washingtonian. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  20. ^ Batchelor, Megan (October 16, 2018). "These are the 50 most powerful woman in U.S. business for 2018 by Fortune magazine". CEOWORLD Magazine. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  21. ^ Papadopoulos, Anna (November 12, 2018). "World's Most Powerful Women for 2018". CEOWORLD Magazine. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "The World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes.
  23. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
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