Mr. Weston: BAE SYSTEMS results from the recent merger between British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, which combines the two largest defence and aerospace groupings within the UK ' an entity with annual sales of GBP12.4 billion per year and a pro-forma EBIT last year of just over GBP1.1 billion. It employs 115,000 people world-wide, about 18,500 of those in North America, 15,000 outside the UK in Europe, about 5,500 in the Middle East and 3,000 in Australia. Our main activities include civil aerospace. We construct all the wings for the Airbus aircraft, as well as having our own small jetliner business. In the defence sector, our products cover everything from fighter aircraft to nuclear submarines, guided weapons, command-and-control systems, ordnance and the whole range of defence equipment. My personal involvement with the company goes back over 30 years, when I joined what was then the British Aircraft Corporation straight from school as an undergraduate apprentice, spending time in the apprentice-training school, on the shop floor and working my way up to a Board appointment and becoming Chief Executive about two years ago.
TWST: When you look at the overall organisation today, perhaps you could
focus on the innovation that BAE SYSTEMS represents, not only the
technology itself but perhaps the way that innovation is fostered,
rewarded or encouraged.
Mr. Weston: Innovation and Technology (I&T) is one of the five key core
values for the company, and that permeates everything that we do
including staff development and training. I&T is embedded in our
business planning process and is the subject of a number of specific
processes we have in the company, fostering and encouraging innovation,
not only on the technology side of the business, but for everything we
do. We have the Chairman's Innovation & Technology awards every year,
where we actively seek out our best practices of innovation to recognise
and celebrate these achievements, in a way that can leave nobody in any
doubt as to the importance we place on them.
Tickers included in this excerpt: BA.L
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