Northrop Grumman to Appoint Sir Nigel Essenhigh as Non-Executive Chairman for the UK

Northrop Grumman to Appoint Sir Nigel Essenhigh as Non-Executive Chairman for the UK

LONDON - Dec. 18, 2008 - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has announced that it is to appoint Sir Nigel Essenhigh as non-executive chairman for Northrop Grumman in the UK. He will join the board of the company's UK holding company NGC UK Ltd as a director early in 2009.

In this new position, Sir Nigel will provide strategic guidance to help support the company's current programmes, encourage growth and assist with the strategy to develop new business opportunities for Northrop Grumman in the UK. He will work closely with the new UK corporate lead executive to be appointed as successor to Graham Thornton, managing director for Northrop Grumman UK, who is stepping down at the end of December.

"I am delighted that Sir Nigel will be joining Northrop Grumman UK in this new role of non-executive chairman. He is highly respected in the defence industry and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge which will be invaluable to the company," said Robert W. Helm, corporate vice president of Government Relations for Northrop Grumman. "We have been extremely fortunate to secure his commitment of time and effort and we look forward to the contributions he will make to enhancing Northrop Grumman's presence in the UK."

Sir Nigel's career spans 39 years in the Royal Navy culminating in serving as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff prior to his retirement in 2002. In the subsequent six years he has held a variety of commercial and consultative appointments, including some five years as a senior consultant to Northrop Grumman. He currently serves as a non-executive director of the Babcock International Group.

In the UK, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of advanced technology solutions in support of programmes in the defence and security and resilience markets. The company operates from primary locations in London, Fareham, Chester, Coventry, New Malden, Peterborough, RAF Waddington and Solihull and provides avionics, communications, electronic warfare systems, marine navigation systems, robotics, C4I solutions and mission planning, aircraft whole life support, IT systems and software development.