Dr. William C. Kessler, vice president of Advanced Enterprise Initiatives at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., recently accepted a part-time visiting faculty position with the Edenfield Executive-in-Residence program at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), Georgia Institute of Technology.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. is a business area of Lockheed Martin Corp. .

At ISyE, Kessler will assist current faculty in the development of a vision and strategy for the university's future efforts in the broad enterprise systems area to include interactions across Georgia Tech's six colleges. Kessler, who begins his position this fall, will use his professional experience in industry and government to provide students with a sense of the new possibilities that lie ahead in business, professional practice and industry.

Kessler has been closely affiliated with the national Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI) since its inception in 1992, and currently serves as an industry co-chair along with government co-chairs Gen. Les Lyles, commander Air Force Material Command and Darleen Druyun, assistant deputy secretary of the Air Force for Acquisitions, and academic co-chair Sheila Widnall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and former Secretary of the Air Force. Kessler is a pioneer in the initiative for government, military contractors, labor and academia to effect acquisition reform and deployment of lean principles related to defense and aerospace.

"I am honored to work with Professor Rouse, the chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering School, and the faculty at Georgia Tech," Kessler said. "I am also excited to have the opportunity to mentor some of the nation's brightest students."

As a nationally recognized leader in enterprise initiatives, Kessler received the Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award from Purdue University and a Laurel Award from Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine for leadership in the implementation of lean thinking in the defense industry

In his position as the executive organizational architect for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Kessler ensures the full realization of the company's concept of operations and positions the LM Aero to responsively support future aerospace power-projection requirements.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in 1997, Kessler served as the director of Air Force Manufacturing Technology. He led numerous pioneering initiatives, including the Lean Aerospace Initiative -- a partnership among government-industry-labor-academia -- to address the affordability of military aerospace systems.

Kessler holds a B.S. and M.S. in Aeronautical and Engineering Sciences from Purdue University and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Funded by ISyE alumnus, James C. Edenfield, president of American Software, the Executive-in-Residence program brings experienced and proven executives to the highly regarded School of Industrial and Systems Engineering on the campus of Georgia Tech. Participating much like visiting faculty, these executives bring the benefit of their work experiences to a classroom setting while enabling substantial growth of ISyE's programs of research and education in enterprise systems. The overarching goal of the program is to give students an overall sense of how their education will help prepare them for the world.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leader in the design, development, systems integration, production, and support of advanced military aircraft and related technologies. Its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world. Products include the F-16, F-22, F-35 JSF, F-117, T-50, C-5, C-130, C-130J, P-3, S-3 and U-2.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp., headquartered in Bethesda, Md. Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. Employing about 125,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 2001 sales of $24 billion.

For information on Lockheed Martin Corp., visit: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ .

For information on Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., visit: http://www.lmaeronautics.com/ .

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company