Industry & Services >> Analyst Interviews >> January 11, 2010

Navigating The Aerospace & Defense Space – Tom Gallagher & Michael French – Morgan Joseph & Co.

MICHAEL FRENCH is a Senior Vice President within the equity research department at Morgan Joseph & Co., Inc., where he focuses on companies in the defense industry as well as special situations. He was most recently a VP-Equities with Kaufman Bros., where he specialized in homeland security and defense issues. Prior to that, Mr. French served as an Analyst with Bull Path Capital Management, LLC, Vice President in the Broadband & Satellite Services Research Group at SG Cowen Securities Corporation and a Vice President in the Satellite Equity Research Group at ING Barings. He started his career as an Associate Editor at Warren Communications News in Washington, D.C., where he covered the telecommunications industry for Communications Daily. Mr. French attended the master's in legislative affairs program at George Washington University, and holds a B.A. in journalism and political science from San Diego State University.TOM GALLAGHER is a Managing Director at Morgan Joseph & Co., Inc., where he leads the firm's defense, aerospace and technical services investment banking practice. For more than three decades he has advised corporations, governments and CEOs around the world in the defense, aerospace and government services sectors. Mr. Gallagher joined Morgan Joseph in January 2009; previously he was a Principal of Legend Merchant Group, which he joined initially as Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, later becoming President and Chief Operating Officer. He is the Co-Author of three textbooks in aviation economics and has authored numerous articles on his specialty. Mr. Gallagher has also appeared frequently on business channels. Profile
TWST: How does the aerospace and defense sector look right now?

Mr. Gallagher: Divided neatly in two. For many years, both sectors were covered together. In fact, many analysts 20 years ago covered